STREET STYLE
What London Wore While Remembering the Queen
Keeping calm and carrying on.
Photographs and Text by Simbarashe Cha
Produced by Sophie Butcher
A sense of uncertainty hung over London Fashion Week in the days leading up to the shows. Queen Elizabeth II had died just one week earlier, and with a national period of mourning in place, it was unclear if designers would carry on with their presentations. Ultimately, they did — though more modestly than originally intended — but the week was not without its figurative casualties. (The entire slate on Monday, the day of the state funeral, was predictably scrapped, as was the runway show by the weekend’s biggest label, Burberry.) The circumstances resulted in a subdued affair; if there were a term for minimalist panache, this season embodied it. But by Sunday, the calendar was in full bloom, with a succession of grand events stretching from David Koma in the afternoon to Erdem at sunset — as if there were a collective exhale and readiness to fully embrace what a fashion week has to offer before the royal funeral.
