{"id":776426,"date":"2026-02-20T05:31:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T05:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/776426\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T05:31:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T05:31:17","slug":"london-designers-get-real-with-everyday-luxury-a-focus-on-lifestyle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/776426\/","title":{"rendered":"London Designers Get Real, With Everyday Luxury, a Focus on Lifestyle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tLONDON \u2014<\/strong> It\u2019s the Year of the Fire Horse<\/a> according to the Chinese zodiac and the city\u2019s designers are channeling the sign\u2019s feisty, risk-taking energy into new projects they hope will spur growth in challenging times.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith London Fashion Week in full gallop, designers are making moves on and off the runway, adapting to the times and looking at style from a 360-degree perspective. It\u2019s no longer just about clothes, but about serving customers\u2019 practical needs and developing a lifestyle offer \u2014 as well as dishing up dreams.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIn this climate especially, you have to be very clever and branch into multiple different fields,\u201d said Harris Reed<\/a>, who shows his signature collection in London and serves as creative director of Nina Ricci in Paris.<\/p>\n

\n\tReed said he tells fashion students, freelancers and young designers that success in fashion today \u201cis not just about getting your clothes into stores, and putting them onto racks. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s a really progressive way of building a business.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tInstead, designers have to think more than ever about the needs of the customer. The designer known for his statement looks is delving into a new category of \u201cfluid,\u201d but still larger-than-life bridal dresses, styles that allow people to sit down or move around, rather than just pose in.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe\u2019ve been doing our take on bridal for around two years without making any noise, and this season we felt like we understood what silhouettes the customer was expecting from us. I feel confident enough to actually show it on the catwalk,\u201d Reed said.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Harris<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tHarris Reed<\/a>, fall 2025 <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Harris Reed<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tBridal looks include a fishtail dress and a corset paired with a shift-like skirt, \u201cwhich is really playing into the idea of practicality and wearability. We\u2019re adorning them all with these colorful veils, which I actually think might be quite a big 2026,\u201d Reed said.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe designer is also moving into home interiors this season through a partnership with Fromental, the specialist English wallpaper company known for its hand-painted and bespoke designs.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe are about world-building, and we\u2019re playing on this idea of home and what that can look like in the next couple years. During the show, we\u2019re doing a little tease of what\u2019s to come,\u201d Reed said, adding that customers often ask the team to reproduce prints from the show as wallpaper or even paintings. The move into lifestyle \u201chas evolved organically,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n\tRoksanda Ilin\u010di\u0107<\/a> has been working in a similar spirit. Instead of staging a runway show this season, the designer is opening a pop-up shop on the Knightsbridge end of Sloane Street, in the former Saint Laurent space.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe space, which opens in early March, spans three floors and will be filled with pieces from her spring 2026 collection as well as art, flowers, books, furniture and a bar serving matcha, hot chocolate and coffee, all done in collaboration with her favorite companies.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe designer described it as \u201cRoksanda\u2019s world,\u201d and said she plans to use the space to entertain clients and host dinners. She sees it as a prelude to a permanent store, which she\u2019s hoping to open later this year. The designer closed her original Mount Street store following the pandemic. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Roksanda<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tRoksanda Ilin\u010di\u0107<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCOURTESY<\/p>\n

\n\tThe pop-up is the first big move under the brand\u2019s new chief executive officer, Patricia Sancho, who said her mission is to spearhead a \u201cnew phase of growth and global expansion with intention and integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLike Harris Reed, Ilin\u010di\u0107 is working on broadening her clothing offer, with a new emphasis on tailored clothing. Ilin\u010di\u0107 is known for her dramatic dresses, capes and skirts in a rainbow of bold shades, and she\u2019s transferring that aesthetic to daywear, and to suits in particular.<\/p>\n

\n\tShe said her customer has been asking for \u201cversatile\u201d pieces that she can wear every day, so for fall she\u2019s delivering sculptural jackets, some with big, circular cutout backs and others with invisible slots on the lapel so clients can add long, colorful silk scarves.<\/p>\n

\n\tOther jackets are more casual, with gathered waists and fabric belts, while black tuxedo styles have fil coup\u00e9 details, and pops of color. <\/p>\n

\n\tIlin\u010di\u0107 said that in the current market, customers either want \u201cspecial, occasion pieces, or versatile, easy, practical ones. There is no space for the middle ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tJulien Macdonald<\/a>, who is returning to the London catwalk after three years, has also been thinking about practicality too.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe has re-established his business after putting it into administration in 2023, and his collection has a whole new attitude. The focus is on ready-to-wear rather than occasion and bespoke; the prices are lower, and the pieces are more versatile. They\u2019ll be selling on his website, and at stores including Harrods and Selfridges.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Julien<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tJulien Macdonald<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJulien Macdonald<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tMacdonald said that, no matter the season, he will always deliver a see-now, buy-now \u201cluxury resort collection, because it\u2019s always sunny somewhere.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tHe said the time was right for a new approach.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cEverybody knows my dresses, but in the past, they\u2019ve been extremely expensive, with prices from 8,000 pounds to 40,000 pounds. But we\u2019re living in a new and younger world, there\u2019s a new energy. Everybody\u2019s conscious of price and the fashion industry is in a bit of chaos. These are difficult times, so I think we need to be respectful to the amount of money that a woman wants to spend on a dress,\u201d said the designer, whose bespoke clients include Jennifer Lopez, Beyonc\u00e9 Knowles-Carter and Kris Jenner.<\/p>\n

\n\tMacdonald said his clients tell him they can\u2019t buy 15,000-pound dresses every day, and were asking him for less-expensive options, so he delivered. Prices now range from 800 pounds to 4,500 pounds for a red carpet look. The designs will still sparkle with Swarovski crystals \u201cand have that couture chic, but they come at ready-to-wear prices,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe pieces are made in and around London, and the embroidery is done in India. \u201cSo now my clients can buy 10 dresses at once,\u201d said Macdonald, who also plans to sell through salon shows at luxury resorts in places including Athens, Saint-Tropez and Ibiza.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe believes it\u2019s the modern way to do business. \u201cWhen you pay a lot of money for something, it becomes quite precious. Now that the price burden is gone, it becomes much more of an enjoyable purchase,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

\n\tAs part of his new plan, he\u2019ll also be selling directly from the red carpet. If clients see a star wearing a Macdonald look, they can buy a version of it from his website one hour later. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Julien<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tJulien Macdonald, fall 2023<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGiovanni Giannoni\/WWD<\/p>\n

\n\tMacdonald will be breaking ground in other ways, too, staging the first fashion show at The Shard, the Renzo Piano-designed skyscraper owned by the state of Qatar. The designer said he was inspired by all the colors \u2014 yellow, pink, beige and orange \u2014 sparkling from the building\u2019s windows at sunset last summer, and approached the owners with the idea of staging a show there.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Qataris not only said \u201cyes\u201d \u2014 they\u2019re also paying for the show.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnother brand making a runway comeback this season is Joseph<\/a>, now under the creative direction of Mario Arena, who was formerly director of product and design for JW Anderson ready-to-wear, accessories and runway. Arena has also worked with Christopher Kane and run his own strategic design and trend studio.<\/p>\n

\n\tArena said he\u2019s eager to show the \u201creimagined\u201d Joseph<\/a> to a wider audience, reposition it as a luxury house, and showcase all the newness on the London runway. <\/p>\n

\n\tThere is a big emphasis on craftsmanship this season, said Arena, who spent a lot of time working with some key suppliers \u201cand pushing them to go deeper.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe\u2019s \u201creimagined leather in a new way,\u201d drawing on historic designs, and creating a 3D effect. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe\u2019ve also brought innovation and technology through a special technique where the components are 3D printed, but they look and perform like natural ones,\u201d he said. He\u2019s using technology to build up patterns in silicone and then gild them.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Mario<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMario Arena<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cEverything is going to be super-tactile, super-visual and interactive. There is even a sound element,\u201d he added \u2014 one of the skirts makes a gentle, calming sound when it moves. \u201cI hope you can hear it over the music,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n\tArena is also using his first catwalk show to reveal the world of Joseph<\/a>, with new categories such as eyewear, jewelry, shoes, bags and scarves. One of the accessories is a security cuff that people can put on their handbags to deter thieves. \u201cEven security can be luxurious,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n\tLabrum is digging deep with its research and looking to appeal to a wider audience.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe founder and designer, Foday Dumbuya, is focusing this season on textiles, and how they tie different cultures, and continents, together.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe\u2019s using a stamp motif, inspired by his mother\u2019s well-traveled passport, for overcoats and suits; working crochet, raffia, Indian embroidery and Chinese silks into the mix, and taking inspiration from the traditional pottery of his native Sierra Leone.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"LONDON,<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tFoday Dumbuya received the Queen Elizabeth II Design Award in 2023 from King Charles at 180 Studios.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tHe said the London runway is a great storytelling platform. \u201cThe story starts on the runway, and it\u2019s a great marketing platform for us,\u201d said the designer, who sells through his own website and at Browns and Selfridges.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe is also a great collaborator, working with Adidas, End. Clothing, and most recently, Lands\u2019 End. He\u2019s one of a handful of London designers chosen to create a tote bag for the brand. All proceeds from the sale of the bags will be donated to Mentoring Matters, a U.K. organization dedicated to supporting personal growth, career development, and skills enhancement, for those from underrepresented backgrounds in creative industries.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a few months\u2019 time, he\u2019ll open his first stand-alone store, in Freetown, Sierra Leone\u2019s capital. The opening will ease the distribution of his collections in Sierra Leone, but also in Ghana and Nigeria, where he said there is growing demand.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn addition to Africa, he\u2019s targeting the U.S. and Japan, which he sees as growth markets. Like his fellow designers, he\u2019s using that Fire Horse energy to take risks \u201cand find space in a congested market,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONDON \u2014 It\u2019s the Year of the Fire Horse according to the Chinese zodiac and the city\u2019s designers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":776427,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,393,4884,171466,95237,226684,257,226685,16,15],"class_list":["post-776426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-london","tag-britain","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-harris-reed","tag-joseph","tag-julien-macdonald","tag-london","tag-roksanda-ilincic","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116101322373883377","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=776426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/776427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=776426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=776426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=776426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}