Unlike any other time, the February 2021 catwalks were shown completely digital with the British Fashion Council outlawing physical shows, presentations and installations.
The 4-day Fashion Week was therefore mainly an online matter, with designers taking to film as its key presentational standard. And this year, instead of solely being womenswear, the London Fashion Week (LFW) convert into a new gender-neutral program.
Here are 5 highlights from the LFW week digital presentations:
Bora Aksu at Tate Britain
Bora Aksu presented the theme of Revolutionary France amid the riotous scenario of war, disorder and isolation, much of which reverberates with present times.
The collection is stimulated by mathematician and physicist Sophie Germain and draws on the power of isolation and its aptitude to push people to their limits.
Ahluwalia
Priya Ahluwalia has been admired for her efforts to change the fashion industry for the better under her label.
The Ahluwalia menswear universe for AW21 challenges the fundamental relationship between migration and cultural expression.
Despite a near global travel embargo, Ahluwalia questioned the times in history “when people have migrated and it’s led to a real cultural boom, when the mixing of cultures has led to something new,” she told.
Burberry men’s standalone presentation
Regent Street flagship of Burberry was transmuted into a maze of blocks in different heights for Creative Director Ricardo Tisci’s first solo menswear outing.
Models walked around carrying backpacks with rolled up blankets and umbrellas, with the Burberry trench cementing its core category status from the very first look.
Vivienne Westwood’s Punk Odyssey
London is so often heralded as a hotbed of emerging design talent, but it would be nothing without trailblazers like Vivienne Westwood.
Even as Dame Vivien approaches her 80th decade this April, her passion for sustainability and never conforming still sees the brand at the top of its game.
For fall Westwood took inspiration from the rococo painting Daphnis and Chloe by the French artist François Boucher. Mix in her signature subversive drape and a fashion love affair is born. Over ninety percent of the materials used for this collection was repurposed from deadstock and existing fabrics to minimize its environmental impact.
Simone Rocha
Having a multitude of achievements and accolades under Simone Rocha’s belt, a collaboration with H&M may be a pivotal moment for the brand to reach a wider, international audience.
The always visceral, sculptural and feminine landscape of Rocha’s collections have given her great acclaim, and this season were transformed with elements of funk.
The setting was a Gothic church near Hyde Park, where tapestry dresses, bulbous sleeves and hand-embroidered silks were met with a biker jacket and platform boot-sneaker footwear.
In an interview with the New York Times Rocha was inspired by the idea of winter roses, for their strength and fragility.
