From Harris Reed’s tuxedo-gown hybrids to Roksanda’s calash bonnets: London Fashion Week has never looked so weird

London ignores New York’s love of stealth wealth in favour of some truly outlandish designs, writes Joseph Bobowicz

The Harris Reed show at Tate Modern (Getty)

Hot on the heels of a notably muted New York Fashion Week, London bucked the trend for stealth wealth reduction, opting instead for drama, bizarro twists and a heightened sense of independence.

Granted, London has always been ground zero for Planet Mode’s oddest oddities, but this season, held in relief against the monochrome palettes and “wearable” (read: commercial) offerings of the Big Apple, the Big Smoke felt like a haven for designers unwilling to loosen integrity or their strict codes. The fil rouge, in many senses, was the rejection of just that, leaning into queer couture, AI-designed collections, and a studied dissection of biography and heritage.

Toasting the procession on Wednesday night, Harris Reed was a case in point, serving up larger-than-life eveningwear that took a scalpel to gender binaries with calculated pairings. Upcycled black velvet formed tuxedo-dress hybrids, complete with ballooning trains held in position as if flying up à la Marilyn Monroe. Lapels were stiffened into dress hems, while make-believe hips akin to Christian Dior’s mid-century bar jacket enveloped pencil skirts, themselves dropped exactly to floor level.