This London Fashion Week has been about return and renewal – as two of Britain’s biggest designers showcased their spring/summer 2027 designs. The first was Alexander McQueen, which as a brand moved to London after 25 years of showing in Paris – something Laura Weir, CEO of the British Fashion Council, told the BBC was “quite a big deal for us”. Creative director Seán McGirr brought the brand back to its roots, with a runway of devil horns, lace corsets and chainmail skull dresses. Mulberry was the second designer to make its big return, this time after a nine-year absence, with Christopher Kane’s debut collection centring around the brand’s Baywater bag, while going big on leather in the form of coats, skirts and loafers.
Weir says the “big mission” for her and her team this season was to “re-platform London Fashion Week as not only a home for British design, but an engine for creativity and commercial growth”. Here are some of the major trends to come out of London Fashion Week 2026: “The number one trend for this season is messy girl,” says Elektra Kotsoni, deputy director for Vogue Business and Vogue Runway, whose team predicts the trends ahead of each season. She tells the BBC: “We’re going to be having a messy girl summer” and says “it’s a reaction to the clean girl and quite luxury aesthetics that took over our Instagram feeds,” last year. Kotsoni says as “the world is quite messy” this form of dressing is a sign of “resilience” and rebellion.
She says if you are looking to replicate this trend, mix pastel colours, dreamy florals, and tactile materials to form “unexpected clashes” that “look really messy”. This form of what Kotsoni calls “crazy styling” was on display at London Fashion Week – with the noisy clashes at Chopova Lowena, Sinead Gorey and Conner Ives. According to Kotsoni – gardening is officially cool in the fashion world. A new twist on the cottage-core looks that emerged post-pandemic, instead of gingham, wicker bags and sourdough starters, it’s all about looking like you’re fresh from planting seeds or operating a lawnmower.
“There are lots of gardening appropriate silhouettes on the runways,” she says, including aprons, waterproof materials and trench coats. It started with Spanish fashion house Loewe launching a watering can-shaped handbag a couple of months ago and has now translated on the runway with Erdem, Yuhan Wang and Bora Aksu. Kotsoni says “fashion is always a reflection of what’s happening in the world” and likes how designers have been able to “take an interest like gardening and present it as something” tangible in a fashion show. Whilst some designers have been taking cues from the great outdoors – others have been inspired by film.
Another key trend identified by Kotsoni’s team is the idea of the modern goddess – a take on the styles of Ancient Greece and a nod to Christopher Nolan’s hit film The Odyssey this summer. Kotsoni says the items to look out for are “draped garments, breezy materials and lots of bohemian and flowy silhouettes”. Pauline Dujancourt’s London Fashion Week show epitomised this style – focusing on maximum volume and billowing fabrics. Kotsoni says these looks are in opposition to how guests themselves have been dressing at this fashion week, suggesting a turning of the tide.
“Everybody has been dressed really minimalist in a specific quiet luxury way and I think people are tired of that,” she notes. Whether your preference is melon, tangerine, ginger or coral – orange appears to be the big colour trend for next year. Kotsoni says she is hedging her bets on whether a shade of orange will be Pantone’s colour of the year for 2027 as it has already been making its way into celebrity styling (it’s not too late to replicate Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet’s matching neon outfits , externalat the Marty Supreme premiere for Halloween) and on the runway. Mulberry, Justin Cassin, Enny Atelier and Vin + Omi all featured orange in their London shows and presentations over the last couple of days.
Ever the fashion muse, Chalamet is once again at the centre of another trend for 2027 – ballet. After he said “no one cares” about the discipline in May this year, Kotsoni says she “thinks it’s interesting” that it’s now being forged as a clear trend for next year. Edeline Lee put on a striking show in London – complete with models taking to the runway en pointe in a transformed school sports hall. “Ballet is very much in fashion,” she says, noting that this month’s Vogue Italia has La Scala’s principle dancer Roberto Bolle on the cover, whilst Royal Ballet dancer Francesca Hayward has recently been modelling for Armani and Chanel.
“Ballet flats are massive and still will be [next year] and small silhouettes for shoes are going to be prevalent next season,” Kotsoni adds – encouraging fans of the style to seek out items in charity and vintage shops if they want to replicate the look.
