London Fashion Week AW20: A standing ovation for Richard Quinn's spectacular collection as the fashion press escape Storm Dennis

From Brick Lane to The Old Bailey, London Fashion Week took over the city once again on Saturday as swarms of editors, street stylers and well-heeled celebrity attendees battled against the blustery winds of Storm Dennis.

But, while the weather may have deterred the usual throng of peacockers that stand outside the British Fashion Council’s (BFC) showspace desperate to be papped for a best-dressed gallery, environmental activists from Extinction Rebellion turned out in full force.

Following a letter the organisation wrote to the BFC calling for it to cancel London Fashion Week, the group made its opposition to the industry event clear by blocking roads outside the venue and and setting off coloured smoke bombs in a powerful display of resistance.

The letter, which was signed by other leading climate change campaigners, including Livia Firth of Eco-Age and Simone Cipriani of Ethical Fashion Initiative, called on the BFC to “cancel September 2020 fashion week” and “immediately start work on an emergency action plan that aids stakeholders through change”.

The group, who staged a “funeral” protest at London Fashion Week last season, also urged the BFC to launch an “emergency action plan that supports [its] stakeholders through transition into a new format: one that directly addresses the underlying issues of obsolescence, overproduction, and exploitation”.

This season also marks the first London Fashion Week since the UK officially departed the European Union on 31 January, a moment which triggered concern among designers that tarrifs and free movement might impact businesses. Last season, the BFC announced the fashion industry looked set to be stung by £900m as a result of fallout from Brexit.

But despite ongoing uncertainty, protests against fast fashion and the incelement weather, fashion press, buyers, stylists and designers remained defiant.

In stark contrast to the sombre mood and overcast skies that dominated the day, the collections were defined by quintessentially British quirk, irreverence and positivity.

There was a playful spirit running through the second day of shows, from a catwalk show staged in a mock French bistro to day-glow knits that transported attendees back to the 1990s and a spectacle involving latex rubber masks, glitter bombs and a live orchestra.

Elsewhere, milliner to the stars Stephen Jones celebrated 40 years in the business with a collection of hats inspired by some of his most-loved creations over the years. And it just so happens that the milliner – who has worked with the likes of Meghan Markle and Princess Diana - is a huge fan of The Independent.

When we approached him to speak about his career, Jones said with glee, “Oh The Independent changed my life!

“When it first came out it was extraordinary, suddenly art, fashion, culture wasn’t relegated to the back page, they thought it was an important thing and that exactly matched the generation and the times it was growing up in.”

Thanks Stephen, we like to think so to — and on that note, these are The Independent's stand-out shows to know from day two of London Fashion Week.

open image in gallery

It takes a lot to get an entire venue full of show attendees to leap to their feet, brandishing their iPhones, after two days of back-to-back catwalk shows and an additional 40-minute wait, but Richard Quinn's AW20 show was nothing ordinary.

Of course, the designer himself is far from ordinary, too. It was he who lured none other than Her Majesty The Queen to sit front row at his own debut show in 2018 after winning the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design.

As the lights finally came on and the music started to play, the paparazzi pit let out a collective groan of relief having, waiting so long with their lenses poised for action.

The spectacle was apparent from the moment the show began as models wearing spiked gimp masks, feathered headdresses and sequins emerged from a giant set of ornate doors that extended as far as the building’s high vaulted ceilings and were trimmed with fresh flowers.

This season the opening looks were two models dressed as cockney pearly kings and queens, with the phrase, “God Save The Quinn” embellished on the back.

Spectacles rarely come much bigger than the show Quinn delivered on Saturday and it was the kind of production London Fashion Week hasn’t seen since Alexander Mcqueen's visionary shock tactics enthralled fashion fans around the globe.

As February marks the tenth anniversary of McQueen's untimely death, the phrase “God Save The Quinn” won't have been lost on show attendees, many of whom will recall McQueen's own anarchistic take on the National Anthem. The enfant terrible of the fashion world famously splashed his own slogan, “God Save McQueen” all over scarves.

open image in gallery

The fantasy of Quinn's “fashion dreamhouse” continued with super-sized bubble skirts in brightly coloured floral prints and Edwardian leg-of-mutton sleeves offset with black latex tights and studded latex opera gloves that saw English country garden style and femininity clash and collide with the world of S&M.

Mid-way through the show, a set of giant floral curtains parted behind the set's colossal doors to reveal a singer haunting renditions of Joni Mitchell and Abba classics to a live pianist, while a small orchestra of violinists accompanied.

Unlike many designers, for Quinn the soundtrack is about more than providing a beat for models to stomp their way down the catwalk. Last season, London’s Philharmonia Orchestra and Bach Choir provided a live soundtrack, while for AW19 he presented a collection of eveningwear accompanied by a pianist.

The designer understands only too well the poignant power of performance as members of the audience were virtually holding back tears following a truly emotional build-up of events which culminated in an explosion of black confetti.

open image in gallery

Founded by Portuguese design duo Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida in 2011, Marques Almeida was created to offer younger consumers a cooler breed of luxury fashion.

On Saturday, the designers paid tribute to this generation on the catwalk, through a collection inspired by the nostalgia of youth. “It evokes the freedom this generation, and young generations before them, have always craved,” the duo said.

Their reference points came from the recent past, with the heyday of the Nineties unmistakably present in the form of acid bright hues, satin slip dresses and rave-ready mini dresses trimmed with metallic ruffles and paired with biker boots.

Since its inception, the brand has become renowned for its signature raw denim and, perhaps unsurprisingly, the fabric played a starring role in the form of a glittering black skirt, but also on frayed hem jackets and exaggerated wide leg jeans.

Elsewhere, the brand diverted from its usual tropes in favour of bohemian-style smock dresses and vibrant floral brocade that would not look out of place in your grandma’s living room.

Ultimately, Marques Almeida delivered another raw, relevant and effortlessly cool collection that is sure to be a hit with its dedicated fleet of fashion fans. Because, while inherently fun and of-the-moment, the clothing came from a place of sincerity and the desire to represent real people.

open image in gallery

In the ornate surroundings of London’s Central Westminster Hall, Molly Goddard showcased her AW20 collection to a doting crowd of her most loyal followers as they feasted on baskets of bread and sipped on glasses of fine wine, sitting in a set designed like a charming French bistro.

The fashion designer, whose supersized tulle dresses have become a star attraction of London Fashion Week — and the red carpet — delivered a collection that honoured her love of maximalism while developing a more accessible vision.

The 31-year-old drew inspiration from her childhood for the collection, much of which was based on her mother’s wardrobe at the time. This manifested itself in the usual brightly coloured tutus Goddard's fans have come to expect, and the introduction of a gingham and camouflage print, ribboned beanie hats and ruched zip-up cardigans.

When it came to tulle, of course Goddard delivered the frothy volume we were all waiting for, but this season she clearly had sales in mind. The introduction of a more wearable, slimmer silhouette arrived in hot pink dresses, sleeveless tops and her classic ruched shapes were even delivered in pinstripe.

This season also, a welcome twist: the introduction of Molly Goddard unisex wear. Models displayed suits designed to be worn by any gender in brown plaid, paired with wide-cut trousers and layered over Fair Isle jumpers and crisp white button-up shirts.

While it may be difficult to imagine Goddard developing past that fluoro Killing Eve dress, she is gradually evolving her offering. This season's melting pot of ideas proved she can pull it off.

open image in gallery

Launched by two friends who met at university, Henrietta Rix and Orlagh McCloskey, Rixo was formed out of the duo’s mutual love of vintage clothes and a desire to provide consumers with vintage-inspired clothes that flatter.

This season, the pair took their love of the retro style to extremes, holding a presentation in the Kimpton Fitzroy Ballroom designed in collaboration with French fashion house Christian Lacroix – a brand that defined luxury clothing in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

"This whole collection is all inspired by Christian Lacroix so it's actually a collaboration that we've done with the House of Lacroix," Rix told The Independent during an exclusive preview ahead of London Fashion Week.

"We were completely over the moon when we got contacted by them in order to go into their archives and be able to pull pieces from their prints and rework them for a contemporary way."

Combining fashion show with exhibition, models walked, posed and relaxed on a horseshoe platform that ran around the edge of the ballroom while in the middle, two central archive displays of vintage Lacroix garments (including a strapless tartan dress from 1992 and an asymmetrical black-and-white polka-dot “bubble” dress from 1991), to show attendees the visual references the new collection had been inspired by.

The new collection, presented on Rixo's usual diverse roster of models that included women in their seventies, also prompted showgoers to reference Lacroix's recurring role in the cult British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, which saw fashion PR expert Edina Monsoon aka Eddy (Jennifer Saunders) make “Lacroix, sweety” her unforgettable catchphrase.

From bejewelled jackets and polka dot trimmed dresses to baroque-inspired prints, the AW20 line-up served as a lesson in how to style it out like the ladies of Ab Fab.

We can just see directional dresser Eddy, a woman who favours the loudest, brashest, most ridiculous trends of all, falling head-over-heels for the brand's patchwork printed dresses and supersized fur hats, while her sidekick Patsy Stone's beehive, stilettos and red lip would pair perfectly with Rixo's exaggerated power suiting, complete with statement gold buttons and lots of leg.

open image in gallery

It’s no secret that 31-year-old designer Michael Halpern has an obsession with all things sparkly. After all, he built his brand on an unashamedly glamorous aesthetic of sequin-loaded jumpsuits, red carpet evening wear and body-hugging dresses.

And for AW20 he continued to operate in the same realm, revelling in all things glamorous and grandiose: a stark contrast to the sombre setting of the marble corridors of The Old Bailey in which he presented his collection.

But, it was exactly this contrast that Halpern was looking for as the entire collection was inspired by the many faces of British women, most notably the rebel, the working woman and the "bourgeois babe".

“She’s in London, also in the country, she wears these big crazy capes, but then she’s also the woman with these workers shirts – it’s workwear-turned-glam,” Halpern told Vogue.

As for the clothes themselves, the archetypal Halpern look that underpins his fashion line, and the reason so many women – including Adwoa Aboah, who happened to open the show, and Lupita Nyong’o – have fallen for his charms, were present.

There was a fuchsia pink satin shirt dress, metallic off-the-shoulder mini dress and striped pant suit but the most notable look of all was a bubble gown embroidered with floral shapes that was draped to look like the stem of a lily and embellished with 37,000 crystals and 71,000 sequins.

The show was proof that in reality, most of the time, the predictable can be just as thrilling as the surprising. With Halpern, guests have a very clear idea of what to expect at his shows with kaleidoscopic colours, Studio 54 aesthetics and sex appeal becoming signature tropes to look out for.