London Fashion Week: Naomi Campbell keeps the crowd waiting at Richard Quinn

Richard Quinn by Jessica Burrell

Patience was tested as long queues formed outside Sinfonia Smith Square Hall for Richard Quinn’s spring/summer 2026 show on Saturday night. It was immediately deemed worth the wait, however, when Naomi Campbell opened the show in a black velvet column gown with structured cream shoulders adorned with a central rose.

Richard Quinn

Quinn, who made headlines in 2018 when Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II sat front row at his debut show, is now known for spectacular sets and cinematic creations. This was no exception; models walked the carpeted runway to a classical soundtrack performed by the English Chamber Orchestra and a vocal ensemble, set against a backdrop of large-scale floral installations and crystal chandeliers. 

The show followed a similar pattern to Quinn’s autumn/winter 2025, but was no less striking in its vague familiarity. Elaborate gowns that recalled 1950s haute couture silhouettes began in a monochrome colour palette, gradually incorporating pastel shades of blush pink, butter yellow and palest mint. Models’ velvet opera gloves and sleek updos added to the Old Hollywood glamour.

The gowns eventually became bolder, with tones of scarlet and regal purple, maximalist floral prints and heavy embellishment. The show was closed with a series of bridal looks, including one gown with a voluminous puffball skirt. 

One cab driver dropping guests off at the venue noted that he had been there several times that day, delivering last-minute flowers. It was a fitting reminder of how many industries London Fashion Week touches, and how much work goes into a show as majestic as Quinn’s. The late Queen Elizabeth II would be proud.

Roksanda by Lisa Armstrong

The venue was its own kind of spectacular. The Old American Embassy is finally open for business as a hotel and blingtastic doesn’t begin to cover it. Its in-house restaurant, Carbone, an import, appropriately, from New York, charges around £88 for a main. In other words, it’s the perfect venue for a designer with an international (American and Middle Eastern) clientele.

Roksanda

To mark her 20th anniversary (‘I can’t believe I’m still here,’ said Roksanda, acknowledging the exceptionally tough retail environment) she dipped into her archives, and tweaked them. 

One floor length orange satin column with purple lining and a train featured the bell sleeves which for a few years, were worn by every public facing woman, including Melania Trump. This is what Flotus should have worn to the State Banquet on Wednesday.

Although Roksanda’s clothes are the antithesis of blingy, drawing their power from her glorious colours, unusual combinations and their art-leaning inspirations, they’ll get worn to these Gilded Age palaces, and need to hit their mark. They did.

Wool suits and trench coats had curved sleeves, rounded shoulders, multiple curved seams and trousers (the coming silhouette).

Body-con black dresses (both unusual features for Roksanda) had wavy cut outs, back or front - a nod to Barbara Hepworth, the Cornish based artist whose organic looking sculptures looked to the sea and to pebbles. Marina Abromavic was front row, as was the photographer Juergen Teller, Joely Richardson and Lashana Lynch. No pressure, but Roksanda aced it.

Completedworks by Jessica Burrell

Cult jewellery brand and fashion favourite Completedworks presented its SS26 show on Saturday morning with a very special guest: Jerry Hall. The supermodel and Studio 54 It girl appeared in a cerulean three-piece suit in a packed-out Marylebone church. 

Completedworks

In a show styled as a shopping channel segment - complete with teleprompter - Hall gave an extended pseudo-psychic reading. She presented jewellery and objets, with fashion commentator Raven Smith in sky blue chiffon acting as a producer and Josephine de la Baume as a planted audience member. Both also made cameo appearances in Lena Dunham’s recent Netflix show, Too Much. 

“Green is no and red is go,” was one of Hall’s most memorable announcements, attested by her multi-strand carnelian necklace. Among the commotion of this much-anticipated show, something quite extraordinary happened: the fashion folk jostling for a seat in the room for the most part put down their phones and hung off Hall’s every word. 

Patrick McDowell by Jessica Burrell

Princess Diana’s twin nieces Lady Amelia and Lady Eliza Spencer sat front row for Patrick McDowell’s spring/summer 2026 show, set in a former control room in Battersea Power Station. 

Patrick McDowell

The collection was themed around the Lancashire rose in tribute to the designer’s late grandmother, who was born in 1923. “She made clothes for herself and for her children and I learnt to sew on her sewing machine from the 1950s,” he told The Telegraph before the show. “That very thrifty, make-do-and-mend attitude – which is now called sustainability – is something I definitely got from her.”

British craftsmanship was a focal point of a collection filled with ethereal chiffon layers and floral motifs, a striking counterpoint to the hourglass silhouettes and bustle skirts they adorned. Some pieces had even been painstakingly embroidered with vintage silver thimbles.

Repurposing garments has become a hallmark of this sustainably minded designer. McDowell’s closing look was crafted from four vintage 1940s wedding dresses featuring hand-stitched organza roses.

As well as artful designs, Ascot-ready hats and handbags created in collaboration with Aspinal, the show also signalled the launch of ready-to-wear. McDowell says this growth is thanks in part to receiving the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design, presented earlier this year by the Princess of Wales. It’s clear that this is a designer of whom the nation should be particularly proud. 

Rixo by Tamara Abraham

There is so much industry affection for Rixo, the London-based label best known for its vintage-inspired dresses. This was clear to see in its presentation on Friday, which doubled as a 10th anniversary celebration - a remarkable achievement given that the brand is still independently owned.

Rixo

It was Rixo’s first London Fashion Week event in three years, and as much for the friends, family and celebrities who have supported it over the past decade, as it was a spring/summer 2026 preview for press and buyers. Among the guests were model Daisy Lowe, Leonie Hanne, Vogue Williams and Kimberley Walsh.

The spring/summer 2026 collection remains true to Rixo’s DNA as a go-to for partywear, with flowy, Seventies-inspired dresses in maximalist prints. It also served as a debut for its collaboration with Liberty fabrics. That the wider fashion industry is shifting to a boho aesthetic is pure coincidence - Rixo’s been doing it all along.  

Its real master stroke is the obsessive approach to fit in every single piece. “You can tell it’s designed by women,” said the television personality and podcast host Williams, a long-time fan who was meeting the founders for the first time. 

It makes all the difference to how the wearer feels when they put a garment on, says co-founder Orlagh McCloskey: “There isn’t one piece of the collection, I won’t know what’s been tweaked and what’s not, and if [an instruction] hasn’t been followed by the supplier,” she says. “For me, how you feel in your clothes is the most important thing.” 

Organic growth is not something she and co-founder Henrietta Rix have taken for granted. “We’ve been really lucky that we’ve had that organic traction as a brand. So bringing everyone together in one place, the [10th anniversary] felt like the perfect moment. It’s really special.”

Stephen Jones by Stephen Doig

On an unseasonably balmy September morning, the Covent Garden sky a glorious cobalt hue, maestro of millinery Stephen Jones was focused on all things bright and beautiful. “I felt like we all need some colour in our lives right now, and a sense of joy,” said the 67-year-old, referring to the current state of the world.

Stephen Jones

Fashion’s capacity to fix that is somewhat limited, but it can inject a touch of joy into the everyday, and nothing is more joyous than a Stephen Jones work of wonder atop your head. 

For his spring/summer collection, he harnessed the sense of lightness and effervescence that’s become his calling card (and has the likes of Dior and Marc Jacobs knocking on his door to create hats for them) and focussed on all things cheering. “We need to get some enjoyment out of fashion,” he said.

That led him to explore the idea of the “ultimate” colour; the most impactful shade of shell pink, the most intriguing verdigris. The shapes of his hats are always beguiling and whimsical, and for this collection he amped up that sense of playfulness with springs of flowers spiralling around the face or a flight of canary feathers dancing in the breeze. “It’s the idea of a flash of something out of the corner of your eye,” he said of that particular hat. “A dawn chorus in flight.” 

He also created a confection of a sleep eye mask erupting with campish marabou and a bucket hat with visor designed to alight a warm apricot glow on the skin. “You get a healthy, just-out-of-yoga complexion,” he said – a namaste approach to hatmaking. Other elements included a head piece with iridescent dragon fly wings and a gleaming metallic turban that Norma Desmond would covet, as well as blooms in bougainvillea fuschia. 

It’s particularly touching that Jones – who marked his 45 years in business this year, celebrated last autumn with a retrospective at the Palais Galliera in Paris – is still as creative and inventive as he was when he began, given the Blitz exhibition at the Design Museum. Jones was a key part of that movement, alongside Marilyn, Leigh Bowery, Steve Strange and Boy George. In fact, he lived in a squat with most of them. “If you’d told us then that one day there would be an exhibition about us, we wouldn’t have believed it.” Much like his fanciful works of millinery magic, some things have to be seen to be believed.

H&M

Topshop can learn a few things for their British high street comeback from H&M. The Swedish fashion giant staged an opening to London fashion week that was confident, impeccably produced and with a clear message: a high street brand can put on a show as good as any luxury label. 

“With H&M, it’s always about offering great pieces that are accessible, whether that’s a cashmere sweater or a basic white T-shirt,” Ann-Sofie Johansson, Head of Design Womenswear and Creative Advisor told The Telegraph before the show. The clothes were from their Studio and A/W 25 collections, which are available to buy now. Bomber jackets, heritage checks, kilts, preppy tailoring and punky leathers have been fused together in a reference to British subculture, and were styled with 60s beehives and mod-like makeup. 

Yes, there were a few trend pieces in the mix, with direct references to the boho revival that we’ve also seen at brands such as Chloe, and thigh high leather boots that have been across red carpets. “I don’t think it’s always a matter of choosing between trends and timelessness,” says Johansson. “Sometimes a trend evolves into something timeless as well.”

Lila Moss was just one of the babies of British icons walking the show, which also saw Romeo Beckham and Iris Law take to the runway to the soundtrack of Favourite Game by The Cardigans. “I’ve always admired how people in London mix classic styles with individuality, creating looks that feel both timeless and rebellious,” said menswear designer Ana Hernández. 

Rising Brit singer Lola Young performed her single Messy for the finale, with a cast of top models of all ages loosening up and dancing alongside her. Managing to avoid feeling like a gimmicky tribute to London, it was a connection between their autumn collection and a city that the brand hopes to be dressing. Take note, Topshop.

Oxfam and Vinted by Tabitha Woolcott

Actress and activist Jameela Jamil was among high-profile names sitting front row at Oxfam’s Style for Change show on Thursday night. In partnership with Vinted, Oxfam showcased an eclectic mix of looks inspired by the chicest moments of decades past, from Teddy Boys of the 1950s to 2010 athleisure. Celebrity stylist and queen of thrifting Bay Garnett proved that the power of styling can lift pre-loved clothes out of costume territory, with the help of sharp belts, unexpected shoes and vintage designer bags. 

Oxfam and Vinted

Familiar faces on the runway included Katie Piper, pop star Sam Ryder and presenter Sabrina Grant, the latter in a quilted kaftan emblazoned with the message “WHAT YOU WEAR HAS POWER”. The event was indeed a testament to the power of second-hand shopping and the value of platforms like Vinted. The looks from the Style for Change show will be available on Oxfam’s Vinted page, with all proceeds going to the charity. 

A LFW prequel from The Fold by Sarah Bailey

Talk about putting your best foot forward: Vanessa Williams – The Devil Wears Prada actress – stepped into London Fashion Week in style this morning – leading a “real-life runway” through the city streets, dressed in a sleek, tailored suit by British workwear brand The Fold. 

The Fold

Mannish suiting has been seen on plenty of women this year, from Cate Blanchett to Mary Berry and the US First Lady. The Fold’s founder Polly McMaster has always favoured feminine cuts for her customer and Williams’ subtly nipped-waist jacket was no exception.