The Top Shows From London Fashion Week Spring 2023

Image via Complex Original

When Priya Ahluwalia is not picking up numerous awards as one of Britain’s most exciting young fashion designers, she spends most of her free time either reading books or watching films. That’s where the Nigerian-Indian designer says she naturally finds the spark to ideate her collections, which have spotlighted everything from the Harlem Renaissance to Bollywood cinema. For her spring/summer 2023 collection, she cites the book, You Are Your Best Thing, a collection of Black humanities essays curated by the activist Tarana Burke and the academic Dr. Brené Brown, as the match that set off her expansive “Africa Is Limitless” collection.

“I was thinking about how our society treats Africa as one place and not all these individual unique cultures,” Ahluwalia tells Complex. “So from there, I wanted to really research this, and it’s also what I’m interested in. So it just gives me the opportunity to learn [even] more.”

Like a true scholar, Ahluwalia did not skimp on research when crafting a collection that sought to highlight elements from all of Africa’s 54 countries cohesively. Presented inside a lush, sunken garden filled with foliage on a catwalk covered with rugs, “Africa Is Limitless” undermines Western media’s misrepresentations of Africa by putting the continent’s diverse cultures on a proper pedestal. The collection’s myriad references were drawn up on a vast visual tapestry in Ahluwalia’s studio. Folks like Tosin Adeosun, the admin behind African Style Archive on Instagram, helped research the references alongside Ahluwalia’s diverse team, whose personal backgrounds also informed the line.

Vintage museum blankets from Tunisia were flipped into colorful mohair cardigans. The blue and cream mosaic frieze of Algeria’s Notre Dame d’Afrique inspired monograms lasered onto organic denim utility vests and head wraps. Ahluwalia’s iconic wave motif appeared throughout but effortlessly flowed down dresses inspired by traditional Somali women’s garb and saris worn by Kenya’s Indian community—prints on the dresses were also inspired by Nigerian Ankara fabric. The most jarring piece in the collection was a sleeveless graphic crew neck sweatshirt with a Walmart-esque American Eagle graphic above the text “Freedom To Indulge’’—a subtle reminder that America’s overconsumption of clothes eventually goes from the United States’ thrift stores to clothing bales in Ghana. The use of dead stock and vintage materials continues to be a cornerstone of Ahluwalia’s label, which recently launched an online platform with Microsoft to crowdsource materials for the label. So far, the designer says the program has been going well but emphasizes her label is not fashion’s sustainability savior. 

“It’s been successful in starting conversations and getting a little bit of stuff in, but it definitely hasn’t solved a widespread issue,” says Ahluwalia. “I think what we really need is to connect with big business to donate clothing and not just individuals, but it’s really been a great case study as something we want to extend and expand in the future.”

That also goes for the overall message behind Ahluwalia’s latest collection, which obviously isn’t going to stop the misrepresentation of Africa in the media today. She points out that her collection wasn’t inspired by a specific current event but rather a lifelong experience she’s felt as a British Nigerian-Indian woman.

“I feel like there’s not enough representation of my culture in a real and authentic way. Even if we think about a movie like Mean Girls, when they talk about Katie being from Africa, they don’t specify where and even ask why she doesn’t speak ‘African,’” says Ahluwalia. “I mean, it’s constant. I think you see it on social media apps today and everywhere else. So it wasn’t a specific thing necessarily but more like something I’ve had to learn and see for my whole life.”

Attendees shuffling into the revered London nightclub Fabric looked more dressed for a rave than for Alicia Robinson’s very first runway show for AGR on Saturday, a label that’s redefined the potential of traditional British knits ever since it launched with a collection of summer knitwear at Notting Hill Carnival in 2019. Titled “Dripping in Colour,” the collection was heavily inspired by the art of Katharina Grosse, whose colorful draping fabric installations informed the color palette of ARG’s knit staples alongside new product categories such as knit swimwear. The British label’s neon-colored garments are sold in over 30 stockists across the globe and cosigned by celebrities such as ASAP Rocky. Robinson was also a semifinalist for the LVMH Prize last year. Surprisingly, despite how seamlessly the colors on her garments come together, she’s unable to pinpoint exactly how she lands on her unique color palettes. 

“I can’t really explain it. I just see it when we’re making it, and it’s just something that comes into my mind,” Robinson tells Complex backstage. “I can notice more when it doesn’t work, but I think color is so important in evoking mental wellness and things like that. So that’s why it means so much to me.” 

The show’s soundtrack was made by the DJ Jyoty Signh and resembled a full circle moment of sorts for Robinson, who previously worked as a door girl at a nightclub. Before launching AGR, Robinson juggled jobs bartending at pubs, interning for Iceberg’s creative director James Long, and designing knitwear for labels like A-Cold-Wall* and Yeezy—she was recently tapped to work on knitwear for Yeezy Gap. But knitting is nothing new for the Royal College of Arts graduate, whose own mother passed down the uniquely British tradition of knitting. Her mother also worked at British knitwear labels like Rowan. “She does our crochet pieces now, hats and things like that,” says Robinson as she gives her mother a hug backstage. Although Robinson’s clothes have clearly resonated with the young Y2K revivalists who attended her show, the designer still treats knitwear with deep historic reverence. 

“This season, I referenced designers like [the French knitwear designer] Sonia Rykiel through the stripes,’’ says Robinson. “Labels like Missoni are huge knitwear inspirations for me. But I really enjoy adding more modern techniques to this craft to create something new.” 

Some of those modern techniques included metallic foiling on crochet dresses, tie-dyed knit fishnet dresses, and the use of knitted pointelle techniques to produce skintight knit leggings with Lycra. AGR’s debut presentation for London Fashion Week also included upcycled denim apparel, fluorescent jewelry made in collaboration with London’s Hatton Labs, and other accessories. It’s clear that Robinson has more to offer than knitwear, and she’s come a long way since making AGR’s first knits for friends at Carnival. 

“Our brand did not come from the sort of normal lead-up to a catwalk show. We haven’t gotten huge yet or done fashion weeks before this,” says Robinson. “We’ve done things a slightly different way, and I freelanced for about seven years before starting the brand. So it’s about inspiring young people that there’s different groups, different paths, and that’s what I really embody in different people.”

Labrum London founder Foday Dumbuya took London back to his birthplace of Freetown, Sierra Leone for his spring/summer 2023 collection dubbed “Freedom of Movement.” Dumbuya’s third show on the official London Fashion Week calendar was a festive occasion with a live performance by Sierra Leone artists Drizilik, DJ Rampage, and the Freetown Uncut Band. Like previous Labrum London presentations, the label lived up to its “Designed By An Immigrant” slogan with another collection that blended classic British tailoring with West African influences. 

A blue, green, and brown color palette inspired by the painter Mark Rothko ran throughout the garments. Standout looks included one-piece mono-camouflage jumpsuits with wide sleeves and blue bomber jackets covered with Labrum London’s monogram, which symbolizes immigrants going against the physical and ideological borders placed around them. Memorable accessories included distressed messenger bags along with hats designed by the revered British hatter Lucy Barlow. A charitable component was also woven into the presentation with the post-show release of two T-shirts made in collaboration with Choose Love, an organization that strives to help refugee communities over the world—all proceeds would be donated to the charity. It comes as no surprise that Ib Kamara, Off-White’s recently hired art and image director who worked alongside the late Virgil Abloh on his runway shows, served as a creative consultant for Labrum London’s latest collection. While Kamara’s own upbringing parallels Dumbuya’s—both creatives immigrated to London from Sierra Leone—it’s clear that both aspire to bring something exciting to Western fashion by highlighting cultures that have been marginalized on the fringes for far too long.

Surprisingly, one of the best events on the schedule of London Fashion Week this weekend wasn’t a show but an installation located down a candle-lit hallway inside an abandoned warehouse in East London on Saturday evening. A range of garments that included dragon-toed Vibram five-finger shoes, hooded nylon shirts suspended by chains, and denim with unconventional seam stitching formed a part of Marie Lueder’s “Synthetic Fire” collection.

“The name is actually from the name of a perfume I made in 2018 when I was at the Royal College of Art and partnered with [Jean-Paul] Guerlain, which is one of the most prestigious perfume houses,” Lueder tells Complex. “We found a really nice vocabulary and language together that described a desire for safety and survival in our times. We made this very nonbinary smell, which to this day, every time I feel very anxious, it gives me, like, a lot of energy.”

Ever since Lueder launched in 2019, the brand has zeroed in on designing what the founder has previously described as “mental armor” for uncertain times. Although the label’s clothing feels directly inspired by the protective qualities of technical outerwear, Lueder emphasizes her admiration for outdoor apparel is not for the look. “The beauty about it lies in the material. This combination of having rubber or stretchy materials and maintaining a good shape somehow,” says Lueder. “I see art students and friends of mine wear clothes like this daily for the look but wouldn’t go into nature. So this collection is about that desire to go into nature but being afraid because you don’t have the time, are scared, or don’t know how to survive there.” 

The collection revolved around three materials that represented the past (leather), present (denim), and future (nylon). Puffer vests constructed from dyed nylon with faux fur details were inspired by garments worn under knight armor. Denim jackets, a garment originally designed as protective apparel for work, were revisioned with overlapping closures, mandarin collars, and wavy top stitching. Lueder, who previously worked for three years as a bespoke tailor at the Hamburg State Opera, takes a calculated approach when it comes to design that always ties back to how clothing actually makes us feel mentally. The placement of pockets and certain seams is inspired by the feeling of security provided by weighted blankets. 

“I was thinking about these blankets that have little pockets for weight. You can put them over yourself if you feel anxious,” says Lueder. “In a big city, even with housing, people can feel lonely. So I’m trying to think about how an inseam or kneecap feels when you touch or bend your knee.”

Whether it’s the ongoing “blokecore” look being popularized on TikTok or the widespread adoration for Demna Gvasalia’s bizarre creations at Balenciaga, one can trace many of today’s biggest trends back to Martine Rose, whose label presented a surprise, off-calendar, presentation in South London on Sunday night. The designer’s first live presentation in two years was held under a set of arches in Vauxhall, a neighborhood historically known as a safe haven for London’s LGBTQ+ community. The collection was aptly inspired by “clothing accidents involved in urgent sexual encounters or hurried dressing afterward.” What that translated into was everyman looks built off garments that played with shrunken silhouettes and proportions. 

Tight leather jackets and vests were accompanied by jeans and cargo pants bearing accentuated zipper flies. BDSM-inspired hardware was attached to the zippers of pants and other accessories such as necklaces. Cropped bomber jackets that tightened at the torso and bear baggy sleeves created a hybrid slim-oversize look. Footwear included new takes on Rose’s Bulb Toe shoe from her autumn/winter 2022 collection, which includes an updated Chelsea and work boot style. A collaboration with Nike was also unveiled, centered on a pair of Nike Shox. Rose’s take on the shoe boasted an angular toe box, a mule-esque open back, and arrived in all-white and black/red colorways on the runway. As always, Rose’s latest collection also featured a robust selection of outerwear and sportswear with standouts including blue nylon tracksuits, oversize windbreaker pullovers, and tight-fitting ski jackets with elongated sleeves. 

There’s a reason why Louis Vuitton CEO Micheal Burke was one of those attending Rose’s presentation on Sunday evening. There are few designers who are able to tap into the cool niche communities that make up diverse cities like London and produce garments that feel wearable for almost anyone. A designer who understands the trickle-up economics of fashion is someone whom luxury labels like Balenciaga, Dior, and Louis Vuitton desperately need and Burke, who hired the late Virgil Abloh, certainly has some big shoes to fill.