London Fashion Week: The definitive guide for a/w 2016

Tomorrow marks the start of London Fashion Week. As the autumn/winter 2016 collections drop, the streets of Central London will be awash with Fashion Editors, bloggers, stylists and photographers and your Instagram feed will be filled with FROW favourites, blurry catwalk shots and street style snaps. Of the “Big 4”, London is known to be the most edgy and eccentric location, showcasing a combination of avant-garde designers, heritage brands and young talent. So don your Tommy varsity jacket, grab an almond milk latte and get in on the fun.

Where

For the second season running, the British Fashion Council will inhabit Brewers Street car park in Soho as the main show space, and the official presentation space will be situated in The Mall at the Institution of Contemporary Arts. Topshop is holding their own show space at Tate Britain, where they will host the likes of Henry Holland, Preen, Fashion East and, of course, Topshop Unique. To find the official show schedule and addresses go to the London Fashion Week official site.

No invitation?

If you don’t have invites to see your favourite designers collections, or, you know, they got lost in the post, then you might still be able to try your luck by queuing up outside the venue. Chances are that not everybody who is invited to a show will turn up and empty seats look bad in pictures. So make sure you dress the part, and you might get ushered in at the last minute.

Dress up

Street style photographers will be all over the streets outside the main venues, hoping to get pictures of the showgoers and models for magazine segments and blogs, so ensuring you are dressed to the nines might get you your moment in the spotlight. Distressed denim, varsity jackets, chokers and Ellery flares have all been frequenting in street style shots this season.

Freebies

Though some areas of fashion week are exclusive for members of the press, just outside of the main venues there are often people posted handing out freebies so it is definitely worth checking out. However if you’d rather keep up from the comfort of your own home then follow along with The Upcoming for the latest news, reports and images.

Kea Bose
Photo: Krisztian Pinter