Fashion

London Fashion Week preview: Watch out for Burberry, Victoria Beckham and Simone Rocha

Irish designers include Richard Malone, Katie Ann McGuigan, JW Anderson, Simone Rocha and Paul Costelloe

A model walks the runway at the Sharon Wauchob Spring/Summer 2018 fashion show during London Fashion Week in 2017. Photograph: Victor Virgile/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Image

Deirdre McQuillan's face
Deirdre McQuillan
Fri Sep 14 2018 - 06:00

As the fashion circus moves to London from New York on Friday previewing the spring collections, the hottest ticket will be for Burberry when the ex Givenchy Italian designer Riccardo Tisci who took over from Christopher Bailey as the new Chief Creative Officer flexes his muscles with this first show for the heritage British brand on Monday.

Victoria Beckham (currently on the cover of British Vogue with her children) will show in London rather than New York marking a successful decade in business. Also returning to London from New York will be Jenny Packham for her brand’s 30th birthday while others like Alexa Chung, Maison Margiela and Nicholas Kirkwood will both stage full runway collections.

The runway at the Erdem fashion show in London 2017. Photograph: Catwalking/Getty Images

Irish designers taking part will include Richard Malone who will open the week with his show in Somerset House sponsored by NEWGEN while Katie Ann McGuigan from Newry, a talented newcomer in her 20s and graduate of University of Westminster will stage “an event” on Friday. JW Anderson will show both menswear and womenswear together on Saturday and Simone Rocha on Sunday. Paul Costelloe is back on Monday and Colin Horgan, ex RCA will also show that day though his show is not on the official calendar. Missing from the catwalks this season are two other Irish names, Orla Kiely and Sharon Wauchob.

London Fashion Week this time also collides with the London Design Biennale at Somerset House, its theme this year “Emotional States” exploring big questions about sustainability, migration, pollution and social equality. The week has now grown to become a major celebration embracing culture, fashion and art with city wide public events and activities.

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Faustine Steinmentz runway at London Fashion Week September last year. Photograph: Victor Virgile/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

The London Fashion Week festival is expected to draw some 14,000 people across four days giving the public an insight into the industry with various talks and shows. In addition several exhibitions relating to fashion will attract visitor interest – Azzedine Alaia: The Couturier at the Design Museum; Diana: Her Fashion Story at Kensington Palace; Fashioned from Nature at the V & A; and Orla Kiely: A Life in Pattern at the Fashion & Textile Museum, to name but a few. Sarah Mower will talk to wunderkind Richard Quinn about his SS19 Collection having received the inaugural Queen Elizabeth 11 Award for British Design and Selfridges will launch a new eyewear destination set to be the largest of its kind in the UK.