London Fashion Week: the 10 trends to know

Grand dames: Several London designers defied our challenging times via the escapism of grand and decadent dresses. Often featuring a historical twist, the best came highly embellished and heavily decorated – see Mary Katrantzou’s 10th anniversary collection of wallpaper florals topped with frills and over-the-top bows.

Tackling tailoring: Modern, pared-back tailoring was a prominent trend across the capital, with modern, boxy blazers standing out as a key item. As French fashion house Celine awaits its fresh direction under its new creative director, there was a whiff of ex-Céline head Phoebe Philo’s take on tailoring to some styles, hoping to attract her once-loyal customers looking for a new favourite.

Lingering lingerie: Carrying over from brands such as Coach, Tom Ford and Marc Jacobs at New York Fashion Week, London showed more lingerie-inspire designs trimmed in delicate lace. At Roland Mouret and Victoria Beckham, lace-decorated strappy tops came layered under mannish tailoring, while other designers created peekaboo panels via lacy inserts.

In the black: In an unusual eveningwear trend for spring collections, a handful of designers opted for all-black looks. The simple colour put the focus on silhouette in sculptural jersey gowns at Burberry, voluminous floor-length styles at Victoria Beckham and peplumed cocktail dresses at Huishan Zhang.

Believe in sleeves: Fashion’s focus on sleeves showed no sign of abating at LFW, as designers continued to add puff and flounce to shoulders and arms. Volume was the key update for spring across tops and dresses, ranging from slightly sculptural shoulders to exaggerated mutton sleeves.

Animal magic: The animal print and pattern trend has made its way onto the London catwalks. Feline spots were a popular choice, alongside mottled cow hides, snakeskins and zebra stripes. Used in varying sizes and scales, both literal and abstract, designer Richard Quinn took the trend one step further by mixing and matching patterns across single pieces.

String me on: A directional detail noted at the likes of JW Anderson and Fyodor Golan, knotted, tied, braided and tasselled strings added a crafty feel to some spring ranges, often styled as decorative layers over simple pieces for an airy, homespun look.

Highlighter neons: While Prabal Gurung and Tibi kick-started the trend for colour-blocked pops of neon in New York, London’s designers took it to the next level. Covering the full spectrum of womenswear from sporty streetwear to slinky eveningwear, zingy pinks, greens and yellows all caught our eye.

See-through season: Transparent fabrics and semi sheer layers appeared in many new season collections. At brandssuch as Huishan Zhang and Xiao Li, see-through layers bought a delicate sexiness as dresses and skirts – a trend to note for the young fashion and partywear markets.