What to expect from LFW autumn/winter 2022

With fashion month in full swing, action will head from New York to London this Friday, with the British Fashion Council confirming that London Fashion Week will feature 86 physical activations on schedule for autumn/winter 2022.

The five-day showcase features a mix of emerging designers from incubator Fashion East to Conner Ives, as well as international luxury brands such as Erdem, Roksanda, and Rejina Pyo, and the return of LFW favourites including Eudon Choi, Richard Quinn, Molly Goddard, Bora Aksu, and Simone Rocha. However, it is missing heavy hitters including Burberry, Victoria Beckham and Mulberry from this season’s schedule.

There are also a host of new names on the official schedule including Banshee of Savile Row, Johan Ku, Kwk by Kay Kwok, Mainline:RUS/Fr.CA/DE a London based collective founded by Alexandra Vincent, Karl Felix and Zarina Bekerova, OqLiq, Poster Girl, Seokwoon Yoon, Sohuman and U.Mi-1.

London continues to highlight emerging designers

LFW has always been known for supporting and nurturing emerging designers and this season is no different. Highlights include Conner Ives who uses dead-stock and vintage materials in his collection, 2021 LVMH Prize winner Nensi Dojaka and Matty Bovan, who scooped the International Woolmark Prize last year and is becoming known for his standout knitwear.

Other emerging names taking part at LFW as part of NewGen includes Eftychia, Helen Kirkum, Per Götesson, Roker, Supriya Lee and Yuhan Wang.

What out for the menswear designers

There has been a revival in menswear in London in recent years and the AW22 schedule has five designers to watch out for: Saul Nash, Labrum London, S.S. Daley, Robyn Lynch, and Stefan Cooke, which are all displaying their AW22 collections within the NewGen show space at the Old Selfridges Hotel.

Other designers set to feature menswear includes Edward Crutchley, Mark Fast, Nicholas Daley, Richard Quinn, Ahluwalia, Ingrid Kraftchenko, Erdem, Feng Chen Wang, Feben, and Bethany Williams.

DiscoveryLab to showcase 15 designers digitally

Once again, London Fashion Week will be a digital-physical hybrid event and the BFC's DiscoveryLab, which supports emerging designers who do not yet meet the main schedule criteria online. This season there are 15 designers taking part in the digital DiscoveryLab including 6 womenswear, 4 menswear, 3 menswear and womenswear, and 2 accessories brands. Confirmed designers include Abigail Ajobi, Anciela, Christophe Ritter Studio, Djokic, Dreaming Eli by Elisa, Ester Kubisz, Ex-A-Studio, Florentina Leitner, J E Cai, Margn, Saskia, Sól Hansdóttir, Strongthe, VeniceW and Westernaffair.

Roksanda to introduce an exclusive NFT

Roksanda is teaming up with London Fashion Week’s official sponsor Clearpay to bring “digitisation, accessibility and innovation to fashion lovers everywhere”. The designer will bring a demi-couture look from her AW22 collection to life in the form of an exclusive NFT, created by the Institute of Digital Fashion, the first of its kind to give consumers access to haute fashion, via Web 3.0.

The NFTs will be available for purchase on roksanda.com, and shoppers can pay for them in four interest-free instalments through Clearpay. The physical finale look will debut on the runway at Roksanda’s LFW showcase on Monday, February 21.

On|Off celebrates 20th year

Talent support programme On|Off, which has supported designers including Gareth Pugh, Christopher Raeburn, JW Anderson and Robert Wun, is celebrating 20 years with a return to the LFW schedule. On|Off will introduce young designer Jack Irving, who will be presenting his dress collection both digitally, via the metaverse and physical with a catwalk show on Friday, February 18.

Irving, who started as a set and costume designer, has attracted celebrity fans including Lady Gaga and Paris Hilton and has been commissioned by HiFi speaker brand Rubyoung to create a one-of-a-kind design that will feature on Selfridges shop floor this autumn. A series of NFTs will mark the Jack Irving x On|Off x Rubyoung interactive art, sound and tech and will be released during and after the show.

London Fashion Week will run from February 18 to 22.