The 6 London Fashion Week AW26 Trends You Can Already Start Shopping—and Wearing—Now
From new tailoring to slinky cut-outs that celebrate the body
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London has just finished a very fashionable week (don't forget the Autumn/Winter shows always coincide with the BAFTA Awards, serving double portions of style on the Sunday). And, boy, was there plenty to sink your teeth into trend-wise, from whip-smart tailoring and "nice tops" to slinky cut-outs that showcased the body and sublimely-executed sportswear. These are the six trends you can shop now, and start wearing already.
Refined Fringe
Joseph AW26
Fringe has moved on from its boho-luxe beginnings, becoming a refined proposition at Erdem, Raw Mango and Edeline Lee, whose hooped skirt would demand to have doors held open for it. Similarly dramatic was a fringed leather coat at Joseph, which split at the stomach into lengths with plenty of movement. A more wearable version might be a fringed belt—St Agni's is actually billed as a skirt—that you can style over flared trousers, or a shoulder bag framed by strips of leather.
Sporty (With Spice)
Simone Rocha AW26
Simone Rocha's collection included a much-feted collaboration with Adidas, giving the latter's signature track jackets a taste of the exquisite for AW26. From a teardrop-pearl zip pull to styling them under frocks criss-crossed by ribbon, it's already the must-buy of autumn.
Selasi AW26
For her debut on-schedule at London Fashion Week, meanwhile, Selasi's Ronan Mckenzie raided an unexpected archive for inspiration, that of Walthamstow School for Girls, her alma mater. School-girlish P.E. kits were her material of choice. As she explained in the press release accompanying the show, being a creative is sometimes like competing in a bleep test: "I ran back and forth, back and forth, watching other girls in my class fall away, the heat in my body rising, my lungs getting heavier, it becoming harder and harder to breathe," she says in the release, drawing a parallel between life then and now. "The last couple of years of being a creative primarily based in London have reminded me of external conditions not aligning with the amount of effort or intention being put in." While P.E. could be exhausting, it was also energising—and it's this spirit you should channel into Autumn. Think an uplifting colour palette of primary hues, and twist-on-a-classic sportswear tropes, as you strategise your kit.
Nice Tops
Erdem AW26
Erdem Moralıoğlu celebrated his brand's 20th birthday at London Fashion Week, with a starry front row that was heavy on national treasures. The collection was achingly beautiful—a celebration of how fabric and form, treated carefully, can be a thing of wonder—but it also evoked an unlikely '00s's outfit formula: the infamous "jeans and a nice top". The Erdem woman is apparently on board, and will be wearing said pairing (in this case a silk-satin blouse, encrusted and beribboned, along with low-slung jeans) as of Autumn. (Add a heel into the equation for a perfect 10/10).
New Tailoring
Tolu Coker AW26
Tolu Coker opened LFW, with a specially-designated seat for King Charles III. It was her clothing as storytelling, however, that really stole the show, especially the breath-of-fresh-air tailoring—an acid-bright skirt suit here and sharply tailored jersey there, the latter of which highlighted, "the evolution of one’s wardrobe as they journey through different social-economic circles". Push your suiting to sublime levels this season, and next, with unexpected shades or whip-smart cuts.
'80s Accessories
Toga AW26
If the most adornment you can manage is a whisper-fine chain or filigree hoop, look away now. Toga ushered in a new era, not just of statement jewellery—think brooches that got star billing as well as door-knocker earrings—but of wearing said jewellery together, throwing the "one and done" rule out the window.
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Cut-Outs
Karoline Vitto AW26
Karoline Vitto cleverly reclaimed past narratives for AW26, drawing on the decades most associated with "heroin chic body ideals", the '90s and early '00s. The cut-out became a thing of beauty and celebration, with the doing away with a, "fallacy many of us lived by in previous decades: that we need to fit into the clothes, rather than clothes fitting us". Whether a keyhole that fastened with the kind of ring you might usually find on swimwear, or slices at either hip, Vitto wasn't playing a game of peekaboo but celebrating the body.

Natalie Hammond is a freelance journalist who’s written for publications including Grazia, The Financial Times, The Times, The Telegraph and gal-dem.