The biannual trade show London Fashion Week (LFW) is typically an exciting showcase for luxury brands’ latest wares. However, many journalists, influencers, buyers and other movers and shakers invited to LFW’s February outing could have reasonably expected it to feel somewhat subdued. 

After all, long shadows have been cast over prestige goods purveyors in recent weeks and months. Although the long-awaited end of the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a flurry of spending on high-end clothes, accessories and jewellery, a recent rise in inflation has decelerated this renaissance. 

The Chinese market has long been a reliable source of revenue for many players, but even that once-roaring economy has since started spluttering. Three British houses — Burberry, Mulberry, and Watches of Switzerland — have seen their shares fall by more than 40%. 

Nonetheless, if February’s LFW was anything to go by, the industry remains determined to turn a corner — or at least weather the continuing economic storm. As a digital agency in London, we have ascertained a number of eye-opening trends our clients could benefit from pursuing. 

Bigger is better

Designers including Edward Crutchley and Eudon Choi were clearly keen to make a statement, showing off coats with comically oversized lapels as well as shoulder pads reminiscent of the ‘80s.

That’s far from the only example of brands evidently attempting to harness nostalgia, as we will further explain a little later. Meanwhile, whether intentionally or not, Holzweiler’s giant puffer jacket definitely exhibited something of a resemblance to the Marshmallow Man of Ghostbusters fame.

Also, it wasn’t just with clothing that design got adventurous. One good case in point was the hefty Labrum London-designed backpack comprising various national flags.

The little flourishes 

Yes, we have just drawn attention to the (literally) big stuff — but we can’t overlook the small-and-impactful touches, either. The London-based fashion designer Susan Fang made good use of cascading crystals, while the womenswear label Di Petsa took inspiration from pearls. 

However, one trend especially well-represented at LFW was the use of bows, which had already made their way onto homeware towards the end of 2023 and have now popped up in the autumn/winter collections of Richard Quinn, Molly Goddard, and Bora Aksu, among other designers.

A fresh rush of nostalgia 

Given the state of the world (let alone the fashion world) right now, it shouldn’t be too surprising that many designers have harked back to earlier times now remembered (rightly or wrongly) with fondness. 

The Noughties was a particularly strong theme at Burberry’s show in Victoria Park, where Amy Winehouse music played in the background as models of the era, including Lily Cole and Agyness Deyn, strolled down the catwalk. 

In a different take, the up-and-coming, Ukrainian-born womenswear designer Masha Popova paired flowing skirts with Ugg boots for a look straight out of the 2010s. 

If your luxury brand is eager to infuse its promotional campaigns with retro vibes in a way that chimes with the target market, our digital agency in London can help. For insights into how, please enquire to us by emailing hello@skywire.co.uk.