London Fashion Week day one, every show that walked: the Eighties at two houses, crochet at a third, and a NEWGEN debut out of Jamaica
Day one of London Fashion Week SS27 ran ten hours, from Paul Costelloe's 10:00 opening to H&M at 20:00, and the Eighties turned up on two runways in it.
Costelloe's was inherited: Paul Costelloe dressed Diana, Princess of Wales, from 1983 to 1997, and his son William now runs the house. Mithridate's came from Daniel Fletcher, who arrived from Fiorucci by way of Louis Vuitton and JW Anderson, and set his Eighties office to a soundtrack of Suit It Up and Life on Mars.
The day also carried a proper debut. Francesca Lake, from Kingston, is one of sixteen designers in this year's NEWGEN cohort, and her presentation was her first on the official schedule. eBay's pre-loved Endless Runway returned for a third year, styled from the wardrobes of Daisy Edgar-Jones, Adwoa Aboah, Harry Lambert, Charles Jeffrey and Sandy Powell, every look buyable in real time as it walked.
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The post, as it ran
01LONDON FASHION WEEK'S FIRST DAY RAN FROM PAUL COSTELLOE AT 10:00 TO H&M AT 20:00, 17 SHOWS ON THE OFFICIAL SCHEDULE.
02COSTELLOE OPENED IT IN THE EIGHTIES: EXAGGERATED SHOULDERS, PUSSY-BOW SHIRTS AND SILK HEADSCARVES, THE PALETTE HELD TO NAVY, CREAM AND WHITE.
03KEBURIA WENT PREPPY AT MIDDAY. RUGBY SHIRTS TIED AROUND THE WAIST, KNEE-HIGH SOCKS, AND A TAPESTRY SHIFT DRESS CARRYING A HORSE AND MALLARD MOTIF.
04FRANCESCA LAKE MADE HER ON-SCHEDULE DEBUT IN THE NEWGEN SPACE, DRAWING ON PROCESSIONS AND MASQUERADES IN HER NATIVE JAMAICA: GIANT HOOP SKIRTS AND WINGED COLLARS.
05MAXIMILIAN RAYNOR TOOK THE ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE: VIBRANT TRENCH COATS, OVERSIZED WELLINGTON BOOTS AND CLASSIC PLAID.
06AT MITHRIDATE, DANIEL FLETCHER PUT CORSETRY TO WORK AS CUMMERBUNDS, OVERSIZED SHIRTS TUCKED INTO PINSTRIPE SHORTS, AND TUTUS ON THE SAME RUNWAY AS TAILORING.
07MARK FAST BUILT THE SEASON ON CROCHET: BODY-CONSCIOUS STOCKINGS AND BANDAGE SEPARATES, THEN LONGLINE SUEDE BERMUDA SHORTS AND FRINGE SKIRTS.
08SARAH REGENSBURGER CALLED HERS THE ART OF BELONGING, A CELEBRATION OF HER IRANIAN-GERMAN HERITAGE: LAYERED HALTERNECK DRESSES, HERITAGE PLAID IN MUTED TONES, SHEER LACE BODYSUITS.
09TWO HOUSES REACHED FOR THE SAME DECADE ON THE SAME DAY. PUSSY-BOW BLOUSES WALKED AT COSTELLOE IN THE MORNING AND AT MITHRIDATE IN THE AFTERNOON.