From Dilara Findikoglu’s hypnotic meditation on feminine power to Paolo Carzana’s intimate show at a Farringdon pub, here are the best shows from London Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2025
Dilara Findikoglu
Dilara Findikoglu may have secured the location for her show just days before, but with her designs, the setting is almost irrelevant – her clothes command their own space. Titled Venus from Chaos, the collection dismantles the rife patriarchal oppression with a smothering sense of feminine power, her women dominating in corseted carapaces and furry hides. “Here, what men of power would call a toxic atmosphere is as freeing to breathe as alpine air,” read the show notes.
Simone Rocha
Alongside her “emo” teenage years, a fable first introduced to Simone Rocha as a schoolgirl formed the backbone of her sexiest collection yet. The influence of The Rabbit and the Hare announced itself in plenty of faux fur pieces; there were stoles slung over the shoulder like overused children’s toy rabbits, or tied tightly – to the point of asphyxiation – around the neck, along with the protective, shell-like casing of bulky black leather dresses and jackets. Runway cameos included actors Fiona Shaw, Andrea Riseborough, Bel Powley and Fionn O’Shea.
Read our interview with the designer here.
Paolo Carzana
Inviting just 60 guests to a pub in Farringdon, intimacy was key at Paolo Carzana’s latest show Dragons Unwinged at the Butchers Block, the final in his ’Trilogy of Hope’. The collection was concise at just 15 looks, and as usual, each felt lushly historic. 19th-century-inspired pieces were bunched and clustered around the body, constructed from scraps of lace and linens and forced close to the body in stitchless tying, sometimes flowing down in a graceful swell as his models made their procession.
Burberry
The starting point of Daniel Lee’s latest at Burberry looked to life outside the city. “Think of them as weekend escapees,” he said of his cast. “It’s that great Friday night exodus from London to the countryside for long rainy walks and to disconnect in the great outdoors. It’s day trips to grand stately homes.” Indoor furnishing fabrics become outdoor clothing, classic trench coats are shown in embossed leather, and Savile Row-inspired tailoring proves the label’s ongoing commitment to fine British craftsmanship. “It’s fair to say he pulled out all the stops for this offering – which amounted to his finest Burberry show to date,” Alexander Fury wrote in his digest.
Read Alexander Fury’s review of the show here.
Talia Byre
Talia Byre hosted an intimate, salon-style presentation this season at Incubator, a quaint art gallery on Chiltern Street. Titled For Lily Byre (after the designer’s great uncle’s sister) – and with a lookbook modelled by a peroxide blonde Lili Sumner – the new collection was shot through with Byre’s wonderful sense of colour and pattern; ensembles came in purples, blues and yellows, in tweeds, stripes and checks, along with a bag conveniently designed to carry a bottle of water – or wine.
Fashion East
Lulu Kennedy’s legendary talent incubator Fashion East showcased the work of three young designers this season: Louther (formerly Loutre), Nuba and Olly Shinder. Louther kicked off the show with a strong menswear collection (with a few womenswear looks thrown in) of leather biker jackets, formal suiting, and baggy jeans; models clutched airbrush masks by Polish artist Helena Minginowicz, whose work inspired German designer Olympia Schiele this season. Nuba came next, with co-directors Cameron Williams and Jebi Labembika honing in on the concept of waking up from a figurative coma; hence the hospital scrubs-esque cyan blue that threaded itself through the collection. Olly Shinder came last, presenting his fourth show under Fashion East; a minimalist, polished collection comprising mainly of womenswear for a change, with the clinical silhouettes of 1950s nursing uniforms inspiring box-pleated smock dresses.
See our photo essay here.
SS Daley
SS Daley found inspiration this season in the Scottish Colourists, a 20th-century artistic group known for the bold colours of their landscape paintings; among Daley’s signature trench and duffle coats and knitwear, graphic prints inspired by the Scottish painters appeared, alongside a jumper scrawled with the words ‘Stay Faithfull to Marianne’ – a tribute to the singer following her recent death – and a series of enormous, show-stopping puffball skirts.
Jawara Alleyne
Despite busying himself with making clothes for the world’s most fashionable woman (Rihanna), and, more recently, the singer with the world’s most honest hips (Shakira), Caribbean designer Jawara Alleyne has somehow found the time to craft a comprehensive 20-look collection that examines the principles of making. Titled Construction, it featured full sculptural gowns, replete with signature safety pins and exposed hems, alongside some brilliant stripped and striped men’s polos.
Stefan Cooke
Just four rails, some fabulous clothes and a massive cake are apparently all you need for a brilliant presentation – just ask the boys at Stefan Cooke, who invited the fashion press to their studio in Shoreditch for an intimate walk-through of their new collection. The big news was their reintroduction of womenswear, with plenty of lush minidresses cinched at the true waist or hip, while their consistently brilliant menswear offered a modern preppy take on some classic British style.
Conner Ives
In the dimly lit art deco Beaufort Bar at the Savoy Hotel, Conner Ives put on a show harking back to the glamour of old-school salons. Models sauntered down the catwalk to Diana Ross in flamboyant caftans, bias-cut dresses and embroidered shawls, in an unabashed celebration of Americana and the sheer joy of dressing up – though his T-shirt at the end, emblazoned with the slogan “Protect the Dolls”, spoke to a deeper issue too; the plight of America’s trans community, in the wake of the Trump administration’s oppressive new policies.
