On Friday 16 February 2024, Britain’s brightest design talents will return to the capital for London Fashion Week as it celebrates its 40th anniversary. And, while the FROW action may be saved for industry insiders, the city’s fashion hot spots are offering up plenty of ways for the everyday fashion fan to mark the event in style.
Fashion awaits around every corner: satiate shopping cravings at a sample sale, devour couture-inspired cakes at The Berkeley’s Prêt-à-Portea, or pop into a pop-up exhibitions to discover fashion’s newest direction. Read on for our guide to celebrating London Fashion Week AW24 in the capital.
1664 Blanc at Selfridges
As a principal partner of London Fashion Week, 1664 Blanc will be hosting a series of design-led experiences at Selfridges to celebrate 40 years of runways in the capital. First up from 13-27 February – to coincide with LFW which runs from 16-20 February – 1664 Blanc will launch a striking glass deconstruction of the 1664 Blanc bottle in two of the department store’s Duke Street windows, as well as a contemporary cobalt blue interactive tabac-style kiosk serving 1664 Blanc and Parisian treats. Also, don’t forget to pick up Blanc’s limited-edition newspaper, Le Journal Bleu, detailing all the latest gossip from LFW and exclusive interviews with British Fashion Council (BFC) Newgen designers.
Elsewhere, 1664 Blanc will host an array of talks in the Cinema at Selfridges, featuring BFC Newgen designers Tolu Coker, Saul Nash and 1664 Blanc brand partner, Aaron Esh, who will each offer a sneak peek into their AW24 collections. While you’re there, pick up Aaron Esh’s limited-edition Blanc cobalt-blue merino wool scarf, designed for the partnership and sold exclusively at Selfridges when purchased with 1664 Blanc, available in the department store’s food hall.
Visit selfridges.com
Spitalfields’ Love Letter to Fashion
Spitalfields will be celebrating London’s fashion and creativity from 17-18 February with a series of promotions and activations across its shops and foodie spots in its ‘Love Letter To Fashion’. As part of the official London Fashion Week schedule, creative studio and talent support programme for emerging designers On|Off will be hosting its anticipated showcase in Spitalfields. This year On|Off will support trailblazing fashion designer Jack Irving, whose collection of wearable art pieces and hyper-reality looks have been seen on the likes of Lady Gaga and The Spice Girls. The full catwalk and designs from the new collection will be presented on big screens in the heart of Spitalfields Market across the weekend.
Elsewhere, a whole host of Spitalfields’ food vendors are also putting together a feast of exciting offers for locals and visitors alike. Coachtopia is partnering with Top Cuvée to serve Canetta canned wine on both days, while Spitalfields’ newest addition, Italian restaurant Alfi, will be offering a complimentary antipasti of your choice with any drink.
Visit spitalfields.co.uk
Raey Café by Edit
British luxury fashion brand Raey – stocked exclusively at Matches Fashion – has partnered with seasonal Hackney restaurant, Edit, for London Fashion Week. The four-day pop-up café at Matches’ Mayfair townhouse, 5 Carlos Place, is a collaboration between Raey creative director Rachael Proud and Edit founder Elly Ward and a celebration of their shared environmental values. Sample dishes that will be served from 16-19 February include mini buckwheat pancake stacks with poached forced rhubarb, red potato tortillas with fava bean flour, oyster mushroom clusters and pickled pears coated in chocolate ganache and granola crust. We know where we’ll be eating during LFW…
Visit edit.london and matchesfashion.com
Burberry Harrods Takeover
Coinciding with London Fashion Week, British fashion house Burberry has transformed luxury department store Harrods into its signature knight-blue hue, courtesy of chief creative officer Daniel Lee, until 29 February. Step onto Brompton Road to witness Burberry come to life, as Harrods’ famed green awnings are reimagined as peeled-back tent canopies in a seasonal Burberry check, while the Harrods’ doormen will swap their traditional green outfits for a knight blue check – a new pattern introduced by Daniel Lee in his SS24 collection. If you’re between shows, sample an array of British pastries and hot drinks available from the Burberry food truck at door five, best enjoyed at the dedicated picnic space featuring knight blue benches.
Inside Harrods, explore the Burberry Camping Corner, which offers classic British hiking accessories, including a bespoke knight bottle opener and a hot water bottle. Also discover a capsule collection of more than 40 Burberry pieces – exclusive to Harrods for the month of February in two new pop-up spaces at doors six and nine – with highlights including the new Knight bag crafted from Nappa leather, new iterations of the Chess and Rocking Horse bags, the Box sneaker in a new colourway and exclusive eyewear styles. Happy shopping!
Visit burberryplc.com
The Berkeley Prêt-à-Portea
Take a break from the hubbub of shows with a bite to eat at the Berkeley’s popular Prêt-à-Portea. Changing seasonally to hail the arrival of LFW, the hotel’s pastry chefs serve up a bold array of catwalk-inspired cakes in this contemporary twist on afternoon tea. For this season’s serving, the Berkeley’s head pastry chef, Mourad Khiat, has looked to the collections of Versace, Nina Ricci, Prada and Missoni to provide inspiration for a playful selection of stylish snacks for The Couture Cakewalk. Afternoon tea never looked so good.
From £100 per person, visit the-berkeley.co.uk
British Fashion Council City Wide Celebration
The BFC’s City Wide Celebration returns for AW24 from 16-20 February. Spearheaded by a drive for inclusivity and ethical and environmental consciousness, the celebration brings together over 200 stores, bars, restaurants, and salons for events, previews, parties, designer Q&As, workshops, and live music performances across shopping hotspots, including Seven Dials and Carnaby Street. This season, highlights include promotions at By Rotation and Rixo, workshops at five-star hotels such as Sofitel London St James, and in-store events at Matches Fashion and Anya Hindmarch.
From 16-20 February 2024, visit londonfashionweek.co.uk
Read more: AW24: Your complete guide to fashion month