London Fashion Week Sticks The Landing

Thanks to an enchanted dress woven by a bored fairy princess, a porcelain doll comes to life. She learns to make shapes with her body that others can barely imagine, turns morning dew into solid makeup crystals, and lands in London just when they need her most. (Or it’s just FKA Twigs at Simone Rocha. But maybe both are true.)

Related article: At Simone Rocha, Girlhood Bites Back

The Toga girls are on the move and their clothes want you to know it. Check out the extra-hemmed skirts that flounce at the slightest step, and the way all the pant legs look like arrows pointing to fashion in forward motion.

It’s nice to see a deft mix of shine and softness in one look, and making the bodice a deep swampy green really adds to the cool factor here. That said, I think I want the boots the most.

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Chet Lo had a dozen spikes on his runway, but the best ad for his brand was actress Chloe Cherry in the front row. A perfect mix of naughty glam and pastel sweetness.

Everyone seemed to love Misty, the long-haired calico at Yuhan Wang. I thought it was kind of mean to put a cat under harsh runway lights with thumping music blaring, honestly, but I dug the floral cocktail dress over the floral tights—an inverse pattern echo that was really smart in the show, and easy enough to copy IRL.  

A few seasons ago, Versace sent Stella Maxwell down the catwalk with an exposed (and branded) whale tale; Hailey Bieber followed suit at the Met Gala. Now Supriya Lee is doing the opposite, with a front-facing visible panty line that looks like a heart rising straight from the groin? It's... actually... kind of gorgeous.

There’s been a fair amount of Queen’s Gambit residue at Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera, where ‘60s suiting gets cropped and covered with checkerboard squares. Emilia Wickstead raises the game with geometric shoes, a backdrop to match, and her usual mix of ladylike silhouettes, done in olive green and powder pink.

After the beloved London duo showed their Fall 2022 collection at a nightclub (with ballet students as models, modern choreography, the whole deal...), they brought it back to reality in a hotel suite. This peel-and-play frill dress is the thing that struck me most, maybe because it's got a psycho ballerina vibe... or maybe because, with a bodysuit underneath it, it could be a total delight for winter parties.

Somewhere under the rainbow, Eudon Choi decided Dorothy would have more fun IRL than in technicolor, and brought her sky blue dress and ruby red slippers way down to earth. A smart choice.

Sometimes it's the simplest stuff that gets you. This look from Christopher Kane is a clear proposition—dress smart, not hard—with a lot of moveable parts we already own and one signature piece that changes everything. As Kane's smart diffusion line says, "more joy!"

I literally got this look confused with a Stevie Nicks fan account on Instagram, so it looks like the legendary swatch-swappers at Chopova Lowena are fully and delightfully doing their job. (Also, imagine this dress with a white pump, no gloves, and a prim little Marc Cross purse, and you'll start to see the C.L. crossover from bohemian fashion frenzy to uptown party scene.)

Inky monochrome formality. Dynamic line play in ultra violets. Get you a designer who does both. (Yes, hello, it's Mr. Olowu.)

This photo by Samir Bengeloune is both evocative and specific—you get the vibe of the full collection (satin suiting and off-duty regality), plus the sense that this is an EVENT.

This article originally appeared in Harper's BAZAAR US