Five ones to watch at London Fashion Week

The debut solo effort from Fashion East alumni Ryan Lo was one of the standout shows of AW15. We were hooked from the moment we read the words ‘Not a girl, not yet a woman’ in the show notes - Britney’s ‘Crossroads’ is criminally underrated, and if you don’t agree, then we don’t want to sit with you. The collection presented a grown-up twist on Lo’s typical hyper-girly, pop-infused stylings, offering up outfits fit for ice queens and noir heroines alike. 

Yes, she’s got a famous dad, but Simone Rocha’s exquisitely executed tailoring and intricate craftsmanship speaks for itself.  She’s deftly managed to maintain the hype surrounding her graduate collection – and for good reason. Her last collection was dazzling in its scope, encompassing opulent brocade, floral embroidered tulle and structured outerwear in gothic black velvet. 

Lulu Kennedy’s Fashion East acts as an incubator for London talent, providing promising designers with funding and mentoring. Now in its 15^th year, the line-up for SS17 sees the return of Central St. Martin's grad Richard Malone Price (whose collection last season simultaneously made us hungry for peppermints and want to sport all over stripes), who is joined by A.V Robertson, Matty Bovan and Mimi Wade. They follow in the well-shod steps of alumni such as Jonathan Saunders. House of Holland and Marques’Almeida. No pressure, then. 

The high street favourite’s higher-end line manages to hold its own against big name designers season after season, and predictably attracts the starriest of front rows: at the AW15 show, we narrowly escaped major injury in the scrum of rabid paps surrounding Cara D and Kendall J. What’s more, it’s one of the few shows which we can afford to shop from (although we’re probably talking a pair of socks or novelty scrunchie here) – next season’s wishlist starts here. 

Molly Goddard’s past presentations have been wonderfully whimsical, taking us back to school: we’ve had an awkward tween disco and a nostalgic art lesson – complete with a nonplussed, totally naked life model. She’s done her homework again and secured funding from the BFC’s prestigious NEWGEN sponsorship programme for SS16 (previous recipients include Matthew Williamson, Christopher Kane and Alexander McQueen) - we’re predicting another A+ performance.