Conjuring hope is no easy task at the moment. The world is uneasy, ravaged by conflict, extremism, global warming, and, particularly in the U.S., a large-scale, full-out war against women’s bodies. Fashion, like all art, can offer the chance for us to escape these things, if only for a moment. But it would be a lie to say you can ever really get away, especially right now when anxieties weigh so heavily. During the last few days of London Fashion Week, however, designers did manage to weave some much-needed silver linings into their collections. There was a sense of progress and a sense of defiance, both of which felt like calls for us all to be more steadfast in our beliefs but also to take risks whenever we can.

Several designers proved that there’s real power in embracing creative evolution. Daniel Lee’s third collection for Burberry felt like a positive step into the future, with continued twists on the house codes. Lee offered new propositions for the label’s timeless outerwear and utility-meets-luxury wardrobe. He returned to heritage color palettes, mixing browns with olive greens and adding clever touches like a front zipper to plaid pants or fuzzy fringe to a classic turtleneck sweater dress.

Emilia Wickstead, known for pretty jacquard dresses and colorful suits, showed her mischievous side this season with a collection that offered more sensual pieces like mini dresses and playsuits with deep V-necklines. Wickstead’s pieces for fall were very much in line with the lady clothes we’ve been seeing everywhere on the runways this season but spiced up in a way that elicited some excitement for what she might do next.

The same goes for Connor Ives, the darling American designer who, for fall, decided to give space to the very real muses in his life rather than focus on a fictional storyline for the collection as he’s done in the past. He kept his signature upcycled t-shirts in the lineup but updated them with crafty embellishments and cut-outs and showed them with simple soft skirts and pants. You could imagine a modern, self-actualized debutante—someone not particularly bound by classism or elitism—in the bubble hem mini-dress worn over trousers, or the fluid halter dress in periwinkle. It’s that woman the Ives paid homage to this season rather than an imaginary socialite, and he’d do well to keep her moving through his brilliant repertoire.

Marques’Almeida’s Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida made a lovely return to London Fashion Week with their first show since 2021, when they decided to move to their hometown of Porto, Portugal to focus on creative projects outside their namesake brand. It was a comeback, but it also felt like a new beginning, filled with clothes for every kind of woman. The show was cast with models of different ages and backgrounds, including some very adorable kids. While Marques and Almeida retained some of the brand’s signature denim craft, patchworking, and ruffles, there was plenty of exciting newness on display, namely in the great outerwear and the ball-skirted dresses. It was a rebirth and a reexamination that felt both tender and exciting.

Also exciting was Aaron Esh’s second outing on the official London calendar. In his show notes, the designer, an LVMH prize finalist in 2023, said his fall collection was “about something instinctual–the emotional desire to remain attached to something that we know as we traverse the ever-quickening pace of urban life.” There were hoodies worn under beautifully tailored blazers (another trend emerging this season), cape-shouldered dresses with hems that swept the floor, and skinny jeans worn with cummerbunds. These were clothes meant to go with us anywhere. They’re also the kind of clothes that dare to blend the straight-laced with the misfits, taking structured design techniques and traditional tailoring and messing it up just so, whether through Esh’s precise craft or the youthful styling.

There’s a rebelliousness that defines Esh’s vernacular, and it’s one that feels in line with the traditional off-beat London fashion scene made famous by punks and hard-partying pretty girls. It’s a kind of defiance that feels particularly important right now. This attitude, as well as a sense of resiliency, has been embraced by several fantastic designers this past week, including Jawara Alleyne. The Caribbean designer titled his fall collection “Eye of The Storm”, referencing Hurricane Ivan, which destroyed his family’s home in 2004. Alleyne chose to show in a chapel, a nod to the fact that churches are often one of the few shelters for hurricane victims on the islands. Through striking twisted shirting, draped wrap skirts, and loosely fitting drawstring trousers, Alleyne spoke to the storm’s destructive fury, while, at the same time, showing how one can rebuild and move forward.

Then came the women. Designers like Charlotte Knowles of KNWLS and Dimitra Petsa of Di Petsa once again gave a much-needed stage to the topic of sex-positive femininity, exploring themes of the divine feminine and sensual self-expression with designs that enhance and embrace a woman’s natural form. Defiance in fashion was most profoundly expressed through the work of these women, in particular the fall collection from Dilara Fındıkoğlu. Also staged in a church (middle fingers up), Fındıkoğlu’s show, which focused on squashing out toxic masculinity, was insanely moving thanks to both the exquisite couture-esque designs and the performative aspects. She tapped the movement director Pat Boguslawski, who worked with John Galliano on his beloved spring 2024 couture show for Maison Margiela.

Titled “Femme Vortex,” the show presented an alternate universe without gendered rules or socio-political barriers. Models glided through the space wearing pieces like cone bra soccer jerseys, denim corsets, and menswear pinstripe trousers unzipped to the hip, revealing girdles beneath. There was a top made of keys and finale dresses with stiff ribbons that appeared to be unraveling and billowing in the wind. It was powerful and provocative, defiant but also optimistic in its reverence to beauty. One model held a newspaper printed with the words, “Omg Dilara is doing a satanic orgy at a London church.” The clever, deeply skilled designer is well on her way to becoming a star in the industry, but to her, it might matter less than making an impact. Fındıkoğlu’s got something to say, and it’s vital that we all listen. Because clothes are just clothes until they make us think, whether they evoke progress, evolution, resilience, or resistance. That’s where the real power of fashion comes from, and it’s how designers help us move through the muddiness of life.