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Milan has glamour, Paris has polish, but neither has the heart or soul of London. This was perhaps even more apparent this fashion week because three of the city’s most beloved stalwarts celebrated significant milestones — Fashion East turned 25, and Erdem and Roksanda both turned 20. It’s a remarkable feat for all three when you consider the challenges faced by the industry at the moment.
Caroline Issa, Tank Magazine’s chief executive and fashion director, posted the following after wrapping LFW’s spring/summer 2026 shows: “I feel so overstimulated in the best sense.” And ‘overstimulating’ definitely describes the five days of grit (leather!), romance (crinolines!) and guile (liquid-like slips!) on the catwalks.
So where to start in decoding next season’s biggest trends? When it comes to cherry-picking inspiration, it’s less about finding a new persona than updating the one you’ve already cultivated with a choice purchase (or two) so that, ultimately, they’ll last in your wardrobe. And, luckily, you’re neither required to wait until 2026 to wear the best new looks, or break the bank.
These are the six trends from the catwalks that you can shop on the high street right now.
Elevated sportswear
From chiffon zip-ups to hooded windbreakers, designers made a case for an elevated yet easy kind of sportswear on the catwalks. At LABRUM, Foday Dumbuya matched pulled-up compression-style socks (peacock and fuchsia or printed with his cowrie-shell design) with similarly exuberant sneakers by adidas x LABRUM. Meanwhile, making his debut at Fashion East, Jacek Gleba’s colour-blocked sportswear — think leggings with a teardrop cut-out positioned over the knee and drape-neck leotards — was informed by the ‘“balletic body’, a reference to the designer’s own history of dance. Jackets, meanwhile, were uniformly hooded but haute (at Ahluwalia, they were styled with matching bubble skirts; at Talia Byre, with high-waisted black trousers held up with a studded belt).
To get the look now, simply recalibrate your attitude towards gym-kit staples, aiming for a high-low mood that’s part sporty, part smart. For example, Uniqlo’s Blocktech parka (£59.90), a waterproof hip-length jacket with a hood, can be tucked into pinstriped trousers or a leather mini skirt. Zara’s barrel-leg tracksuit bottoms (£25.99) come with a silver hardware at the waist for ready-made elevation. And COS’s tomato suede trainers (£95), meanwhile, will add a sporty yet elegant flourish to any outfit.
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High-fashion florals
There’s nothing groundbreaking about wearing florals in spring, which is perhaps why you should make it your motif this winter. On the catwalks, florals were neither insipid nor garden-variety. Instead, in-your-face botanicals sprung up at Patrick McDowell, where a knee-length white coat was printed with blurred long-stem roses, and at Emilia Wickstead, where a skirt was strewn with orchids. At Yuhan Wang, meanwhile, a pink rose-patterned jacket was peplum-waisted and puff-sleeved, giving a whole new meaning to the idea of a ‘trophy top half’ this season.
Sister Jane majors in frocks, but there’s a ditsy print jacket (£125) in the menswear section that offers a perennial with punch. Sandro’s short-sleeved shirt (£259), also from the men’s offering, has a more abstract floral. Finally, Mango’s mesh dress (£45.99) is the opposite of the flouncy, wafty or otherwise girly numbers seen everywhere this summer.
Fantasy knits
For his debut at LFW, Oscar Ouyang put his stamp on Fair Isle, splicing a hooded cardigan with this season's trending checked shirt for a look that was directional enough for the catwalk yet cosy. Chopova Lowena similarly took the humble jumper to new heights, with zip-up sweaters knitted with cool-girl checks and cheerleaders embroidered on them.
There's never a season when you don't need a jumper in London, but you can upgrade your woolies with fashion-first takes on Fair Isle. Wiggy Kit’s (£425) is suitably exuberant, with a puff-sleeve silhouette which tucks perfectly into skirts. Brora's (£185) wool cardigans are unparalleled and this season it has subtly coloured-clashed Fair Isle. Toast has a colour-pop version of the classic Argyle (£225), with a diamond-patterned yoke that will stand out in a sea of black cashmere jumpers.
Period costume
Autumn 2025 shall henceforth be known as period drama season, with pap shots and trailers dropping thick and fast for adaptations like Hamnet, Wuthering Heights and Netflix’s Pride & Prejudice. This might explain the sense of romance on the catwalks, with accentuated waists, moulded hips and voluminously-proportioned skirts taking centre stage.
At Edeline Lee, a skirt of blue and white fringe was given the angles of a lampshade, drawing in the waist but creating a hoop around the hips. Several Erdem frocks had miniature panniers, though not so big to restrict their wearers’ freedom of movement. Simone Rocha similarly riffed on the crinoline skirt, with a ditsy-printed, drawstring-embellished version that half floated, half bounced down the runway. Roksanda showed an inky purple jacquard dress that jutted from the waist like a tent, while at Toga, designer Yasuko Furuta wasn’t content with showcasing just the waist or the hips, and chose to spotlight both with a double set of belts that created an hourglass silhouette.
An A-line skirt is your shortcut this season (forget corsetry, pantaloons or empire-line anything). Just look for something with plenty of body without going full bustle. M&S’s tulle maxi skirt (£46) fits the bill, with its gauzy layers, as does the grey kick-flared skirt at H&M (£44.99).
The alt LBD
The LBD is a master of reinvention. And for SS26, its new incarnations are guaranteed to hold your attention. Pauline Dujancourt’s filigree lace style was light-as-a-feather with a peekaboo bodice, string-thin straps and a petal-like hemline. The curveball? It was closer to navy than black. At Tove, a black slip dress was a lesson in how less can be more. Conner Ives’ LBD wasn’t a dress at all but a glove-like, pedal pusher-playsuit modelled by editor Osman Ahmed. Finally at Erdem, amid the pomp and circumstance of elaborately-waisted gowns, one look stood out for daring to be different: a crochet take on the LBD.
Nobody’s Child (£160) has an embroidered velvet column dress that’s certainly not your average LBD. Reiss’s take (£218) meanwhile, modernises a silhouette last seen in the Eighties, with an off-the-shoulder top, ruched middle and puffball bottom. Arket’s open-collar leather dress (£419) is an investment purchase but one that can be worn by itself or as an overlayer with black wool trousers or even a denim maxi skirt.
Polished grunge
London is the grungiest of the core four fashion cities, which explains why the denim on display was distressed, whiskered and generally lived-in. Aaron Esh made a case for the slimline fit (somewhere between skinny and straight), with minimally-frayed jeans that were tucked into slouched ankle boots. At Fashion East, Mayhew also toyed with pencil-thin jeans, polishing the look with another blast from the past: court-heeled pumps. And at Burberry, a buckled denim pea coat was styled with floral knickers, checked mule sandals and a skinny tasseled scarf last seen in 2006.
Get the look by shopping for denim with a difference. Weekday’s rigid denim jeans (£55) will age beautifully, although they already look as though you’ve worn them decades. AllSaints’s gathered denim mini (£99) has the stamina to do party season and the festival circuit practically back to back. Massimo Dutti’s true-blue version (£129) of the barn jacket is the only way to nail double denim.
