5 shows you missed at London Fashion Week SS26 Women's The calendar of the English capital is shining once again

This season, London Fashion Week breathed new air. Partly thanks to the changes brought by the new President of the British Fashion Council, Laura Weir, who made Fashion Week free for everyone, and partly due to the designers themselves. On London’s runways, collections with a bold vision landed, both from established and emerging brands. Are we witnessing the comeback of London Fashion Week? Who can say, considering the upheavals the entire fashion industry has faced in recent months. One thing is certain: when you give the right space to new generations, it’s almost impossible to escape the attention of the international audience. And London proved it.

Here, then, are 5 shows you missed at London Fashion Week SS26 Women's.

Nuba World

Among London’s emerging designers, the name Cameron Williams is making its way with absolute determination. With the support of the talent incubator Fashion East, the designer presented the new collection of his brand Nuba World at the Institute of Contemporary Arts. With elegant draping and geometric yet minimalist tailoring, Williams showcased fluid lines in satin and tulle. Candy-colored transparencies paired with black & white, while plunging necklines, bare midriffs, and micro-skirts celebrated the body and its shapes. The collection subtly recalls Helmut Lang’s perfectionism in his golden years – a resemblance that, hopefully, brings luck to the young designer.

Tolu Coker

Tolu Coker may be an emerging brand, but it has already convinced figures such as Janelle Monae, Doechi, Tyla and Ariana Grande. And, as if that weren’t enough, the star of this week’s presentation was Naomi Campbell. In a yellow pleated dress, the supermodel collaborated with the British-Nigerian designer on a short film (directed by Coker’s brother, Ade). In the film, Campbell talks about motherhood, nostalgia, and her roots, while the garments – a bouquet of nude colors with brief yellow or petrol-green accents – merged traditional silhouettes with contemporary tailoring. The contrast between circle skirts, knee-length bermuda shorts, and puff sleeves with cutouts revealing the back and hips held a surprise in every look.

Paolo Carzana

Every Paolo Carzana collection is like a journey through time, and it’s no coincidence that the Welsh designer’s latest show was held at the British Library. Many elements make Carzana’s shows unique: from the fragility of the garments, often created from old clothing and hand-treated with plant-based dyes, to their wrinkled and crinkled texture, and finally, to an extreme layering. For SS26, Carzana pushed escapism’s stylistic code to the extreme, focusing on supernatural creatures as the main inspiration for each look. Aquatic and woodland characters met on the runway, cultivating a romantic yet almost apocalyptic image of Earth.

Ashley Williams

In a season where the celebration of hyper-feminine aesthetics reached its peak, Ashley Williams decided to energize the trend with a good dose of punk. Irony, always central to the brand’s collections, was alive and well, channeled through the pairing of skull tights with silver ballet flats, orthopedic shoes with ’80s tracksuits, cat prints, and contemporary camouflage. Each look was loaded with unexpected details and unique accessories such as the Barbie-pink gazebo-tiara or the embroidered-toilet-paper-bracelet by Yvmin. Despite the absolute absurdity of the result, the designer’s inspiration was very real. For SS26, Williams wanted to tell the story of care and mundanity as structures of pleasure. Whether it’s an athletic outfit à la Jane Fonda or a silk nightgown, a 1950s nurse’s uniform, or a suit openly declaring "I <3 ME".

Di Petsa

Di Petsa also didn’t take herself too seriously this season. Starting from her fantastic imagery, tied to sea creatures and Greek mythology, the designer pushed her wetlook far beyond the simple definition of an evening dress for pop girlies and red carpets. Through the lens of archaeology, Di Petsa narrated temples and figures from Greek literature as metaphors for our present. From "Ancient Male Figure" to "Fragment of Aphrodite", the slogans appeared on ripped t-shirts, covered in mud or soaked with water. Alongside sensual, elegant, and elevated looks like the sand-colored reinterpretation of the wetlook, came far more commercial designs, such as fringed denim dresses, swimsuits with mythological motifs, cargo capri pants embellished with beads, draped mini dresses, and sarongs. With such a bold, fun, and self-referential collection, it’s as if Di Petsa shouted to the entire fashion industry that she’s here to stay.