From glamour to goddesses, these looks left us spellbound
BY SHANNON MOYCE, IMAGE BY THAICATWALK
London Fashion Week marked the start of the “big fours” fashion cycle. The season started off with a bang and with some traditional British rain. London is the home of fashion intertwined with queer culture. This season, we saw new talent, extravagant designs, and exciting shows. The fashion week saw some of the biggest established designers, like Burberry, have their moment alongside up-and-coming designers like Grete Henriette. We’re highlighting our favourite queer designers and their Autumn/Winter 25 collections.
Grete Henriette
One of the standout moments of London Fashion Week was the highly anticipated debut of Grete Henriette. Grete Henriette is a German-born, London-based fashion designer. She debuted her collection Elysium, a German word signifying the home of the blessed after death. Her queer experience within a religious upbringing inspired her to create a new queer mythology through this collection. As she said in an interview with Bricks Magazine: “I want people to feel like goddesses, like angels, just beautiful in their body.” The collection achieved this ethereal beauty through the elegant draping of intricately crafted jewellery. In an iconic move, the show closed with Drag Race star Tayce leading the goddesses down the catwalk.
Sinead O’Dwyer
Sinead O’Dwyer returned to the runway after the widely celebrated queer visibility of her last fashion show, which featured queer women embracing and kissing. This time, her collection Character Studies took a subtler approach while keeping her signature body empowerment. The collection delved deeper into the narratives of the characters from her previous shows. Displaying tailored shirts, double-breasted leather jackets, and playful bubble skirts, Sinead O’Dwyer explained: “I feel it’s for me to continue expanding on the girls in the world. To go beyond representation, so it’s about the community.” This season was about her growing and nurturing her community.
Dilara Findikoglu
Following a break from last season, Turkish designer Dilara Findikoglu made a return to London with her collection Venus From Chaos, an intensely gothic and otherworldly vision. The collection featured corsets crafted from snakeskin leather, beach shells, and intricately braided hair. Dilara Findikoglu’s signature theatricality was on full display, with powerful silhouettes and detailed embellishments. The collection’s impact extended beyond the runway, as it was notably worn by Charli xcx at the BRIT Awards.
Chet Lo
Chet Lo’s Modern Antiquity collection continued the designer’s exploration of the intersection between his Asian heritage and queer identity. This season, Chet Lo presented a more sombre interpretation of his iconic spiky knitwear, reflected in the darker colour palette of maroons, greens, and blacks. This collection showed the connection between his heritage and his queer identity. Chet Lo said that he “wanted to evoke this weird sense of juxtaposition, where from afar you think something looks a certain way, but you realise the meaning is much deeper on closer inspection.”
S.S. Daley
S.S. Daley continued to explore non-gender-conforming design with their collection, Classic British Wardrobe Archetypes, partly inspired by the bisexual icon Marianne Faithfull. The collection presented a contemporary interpretation of British staples, including tailored trench coats, peacoats, and frilly shirts. A woollen jumper with the words “Stay Faithfull to Marianne” served as a tribute to Faithfull’s influence.
Harris Reed
Harris Reed’s collection Gilded was nothing short of glamour. A collection rooted in the queer need for armour. Harris Reed explained: “I’m thinking about how we protect ourselves in ways that make us feel elevated and beautiful.” The elaborate silhouettes and flamboyant 3D-printed shapes, with their intricate details, showcased the dedication poured into this stunning collection. The 3D-printed and gold-painted shapes add a futuristic yet regal feel to the garments. Following the success of his book, Fluid, which reflects on the designer’s exploration of fluidity, Harris Reed has solidified his position as a leading voice in queer fashion, with his looks being worn by other queer icons like Yasmin Finney at the Oscars.
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