A guide to London Fashion Week: S/S 2017

Tomorrow, the world’s top fashion editors, stylists, photographers and bloggers will descend upon the capital for one of the biggest events on the fashion calendar. Charge your phones and grab a coffee – London Fashion Week is here again, and this time there’s a twist. 

As more and more designers are creating and showing collections that can be bought straight away, rather than in six months, it is probable that this season will bring a mixture of autumn and spring.

As a result, no longer is London Fashion Week spring/summer 2017 named as such – now, it’s simply “September 2016”. Although most of the designers will still be designing for next year, rather than now, it would appear that the powers that be are gradually preparing for a shift in the fashion calendar.

Where?

The epicentre of LFW, the British Fashion Council (BFC) Show Space, will return to Soho’s Brewer Street Car Park for the third season running. Meanwhile, the official presentation space will be situated in The Mall at the Institution of Contemporary Arts, whilst Topshop’s Show Space will be in Old Spitalfields Market. The Freemasons’ Hall will once again be the home of Fashion Scout.

No invitation? No worries

Just because you’ve missed out on an invitation to see your favourite designer’s collection, you don’t have to miss out on all the Fashion Week fun. Alongside giant screens offering a front row seat to the action throughout the duration of Fashion Week, Carnaby Street will be hosting workshops, beauty treatments and live demos from the likes of Benefit, the Braid Bar and Illamasqua.

Many of the shows will also be streamed live on the official LFW website, so you can also watch from the comfort of home.

Dress the part

It is a truth universally acknowledged that, if you dress in a manner deemed crazy enough, you will get snapped up by street style photographers at Fashion Week. Often lovingly satirised in the press, there are always gangs of strikingly dressed creatives wandering the streets around the main venues, no doubt hoping to turn up somewhere on the pages of a magazine or blog. They’re fun to spot if you’re just hanging around the area, but if you’re feeling extra brave then don your most outlandish outfit, sellotape a child’s toy to your head, and wait for the photographers to come running.

If London is a bit far afield, or you’d prefer to keep up with the action from home, follow The Upcoming for all the latest news, reports and images from the heart of the action.

Grace Cain
Photo: Ambra Vernuccio