After a few ailing years during which London Fashion Week struggled to attract international press, influencers and buyers, and lacked some big-name brands on the schedule, this season felt like a jubilant comeback.
Christopher Kane, who folded his eponymous label three years ago, returned to the runway with his debut collection as creative director of Mulberry. Alexander McQueen returned to its hometown after 25 years showing in Paris, and M&S staged its first-ever LFW show to mark its centenary. The designers were presenting their visions for spring/summer 2027, but several of the trends spotted can be adopted into a winter wardrobe right now. And, in the case of the H&M and M&S shows, shopped direct from the runway.
Read on for the five trends to weave into your winter wardrobe.
Check
Check was the season’s most wearable print, and London’s runways were jam-packed with plaid. Mulberry’s Christopher Kane cut a signature “country” check (ie a classic checked pattern) across an oversize raincoat and layered it on tiny leather skirts. Burberry’s Daniel Lee had highly influential British designer Celia Birtwell reimagined the classic house check with floral embroidery trailing across shirts, trenches and its new Sloane bag. Chopova Lowena clashed heritage check with gaudy florals while Yuhan Wang pulled it off-kilter in lace. An easy addition to any autumnal wardobe, there’s plenty of plaid in the stores right now. Opt for billowing maxis in muted tartans, a plaid shirt or a punchy check raincoat.
Shop the trend
Topshop ruched check top
Mango checked mini skirt
All Saints check western shirt
Sheer embellished dresses
The sheer dress trend got a glitzy makeover this season with beautiful embroidery and embellishment. Simone Rocha's Old Bailey show, inspired by Caravaggio's The Taking of Christ, sent rose embroidery creeping across sheer tulle dresses, with pearls offsetting the transparency and rosette hoods finishing the look. At McQueen, Seán McGirr flung metallic leaves across mesh dresses and tailoring while Chopova Lowena paired graphic mesh tops with carabiner belts and folkloric layers. Be best dressed this party season and skip the velvet and sequins in favour of a sheer embellished dress.
Shop the trend
La Fuori embellished cocktail dress
H&M black sheer embellished dress
Juliet Dunn embroidered sheer cotton maxi
Electric Blue
If last year’s primary colour was a pop of red, this autumn it’s set to be replaced with a bolt of blue. At Labrum, Foday Dumbuya used cobalt to punctuate an earthy palette of burgundies, mossy greens and ochres, while Ahluwalia and Di Petsa both made the case for electric blue silky eveningwear. Test the trend with a cobalt blue sock with black loafers or dive in with a bold blue knit – Cos, Hush and Aligne all have excellent options.
Shop the trend
Hush brushed wool jumper
Comme Si silk trousers
Agolde cotton blend shirt
Fringe benefits
Fringe has been a major theme in our summer ’26 wardrobes and is set to continue through to next year. Take notes from Erdem’s swinging floral fringe hem maxi dresses and Burberry’s embellished and fringed sequin skirts, or Ahluwalia’s beautiful cream silk trousers with a swinging fringe belt, and add a tassel or two to your eveningwear wardrobe this winter.
Shop the trend:
Topshop cream satin trousers with fringe belt
M&S sequin fringe skirt
Malina fringed satin midi dress
Bustles and peplums
Peplums have emerged as a microtrend this year, much to the concern of millennials who lived through the silhouette’s previous going-out-top incarnation. This week in London, though, the silhouette was supersized to dramatic, bustle-like effect. McQueen’s McGirr brought the house home for its first London show in 25 years, combining tailoring with full, tiered miniskirts and Roksanda did sculptural arched-peplum skirts so voluminous doorways might need to be tackled side on. Erdem’s dreamy floral applique ballgowns came with structured full bustle skirts, and Simone Rocha offered beautiful, beaded ballgowns that ballooned at the hip. For now, these supersized silhouettes are as hard to come by in the shops as they are to inject into an everyday wardrobe, but one can make a nod to the trend with a voluminous skirt or a puffy peplum top.
Shop the trend:
Staud Fabianne silk corset dress
ShuShu Tong bow detail mini
Jacques Wei leather-trimmed mini skirt
