The key trends from LFW’s take on SS25

Pleats please 

While pleated skirts might conjure up something your nan would buy from M&S, at this season’s LFW pleated skirts came in all shapes and sizes, and were anything but mumsy. Over at Burberry, pleated skirts came in the form of long, swishy numbers that were paired with sporty net tees. At Standing Ground – helmed by Irish designer Michael Stewart – pleats were imitated by some clever beading work. For Kent&Curwen, the hemlines on their pleated numbers were that little bit shorter, while Emilia Wickstead opted for pleats that were decidedly oversized. The key takeaway here? You won’t be judged too much when you start eyeing up a skirt that looks eerily similar to the one you wore back at school. 

Canadian tuxedos

The double-denim looks at this season’s LFW were less Britney and Justin at that awards show and more structural, avant-garde and, well, different. While it might seem hard to reinvent such a time-tested (yet ever-controversial) silhouette, designers like Marques’Almeida proved they had the minerals for it. They sent down a denim suit complete with space-y feeling detailing on the jacket and sculpting seams running down the legs. At Masha Popova, things were a little less matchy-matchy, the jacket in their denim co-ord complete with frayed raw hems, while the skirt was… not. Last but not least, Tolu Coker – a young British-Nigerian designer – showcased a Canadian tuxedo featuring contrasting cream panels. 

London-ready silhouettes

Though knitwear isn’t very SS25, it’s probably the LFW trend most suited to the capital’s notoriously temperamental climate. Mod-esque, chunky knit mini dresses were spotted at JW Anderson while Mithridate – created by CSM alumni Demon Zhang – sent down crystal-adorned, asymmetric turtleneck jumpers. London weather-ready silhouettes also came in the form of oversized outerwear after oversized outerwear. Erdem paired their characteristically romantic dresses with larger-than-life blazers (again, adorned with crystal embellishments) while Ahluwalia showcased a look that consisted entirely of a knee-length, emerald green coat. That one was, again, embellished. There’s something of a theme here, isn’t there? 

Volume a’plenty 

While esoteric Depop girlies have been flinging puffball skirts at London’s “It” girls for a while now, it seems that the fashion world has only just caught up with the fact that bigger is better. Take the trend for voluminous skirts at this season’s LFW — poofy skirts weren’t just seen at Emilia Wickstead (who’s basically made Cinderella-esque dresses her “thing”), but Simone Rocha, Erdem and Edeline Lee. Simone Rocha’s take on the trend felt particularly fun — she showcased a sheer red number complete with puff sleeves, a Tudor-esque collar and ballet flats. If Simone Rocha’s collection is anything to go by, in fact, they’re here to stay, too. 

Sex (still) sells 

From Nensi Dojaka’s collab with Calvin Klein to that Mowalola show, one thing’s for sure: sex will never cease to sell. Though at one end of the spectrum it seemed that SS25 might see a trend towards covering up (a-la the trenches we saw descend the catwalk for Toga and Yuishan Zhang), other designers couldn’t resist the temptation to tap into controversy and bare it all. Over at Nensi Dojaka her collab with iconic American fashion designer saw them swap out some of their sheer dresses for more balls-to-the-wall “underwear as outerwear” fits. At Mowalola, things were taken even further. Irina Shayk closed the Nigerian-born fashion designer’s show in a plunging fur bodysuit, while makeup artist Tilda Mace descended the runway in a whole load of animal prosthetics… and not much else. Hey, this is what Emily Pankhurst died for, right?