A day in the life of a Fashion Journalism student at London Fashion Week

Edward Crutchley

Exactly a decade since his first show at the venue, Edward Crutchley returned to the ornate Ironmongers Hall to present a deeply historic collection – frizzy Tudor hairdos and all. Under the light of 15th century stained-glass windows, the collection started as purely Anglophilic: a Tudoresque undershirt with shoulders wider than the narrow runway snaking between benches. As we got further into the collection, the cultural influences broadened until tapestry coats were paired with shamelessly Americana cowboy hats, and the dramatic shoulder pads were used to aggrandise varsity jackets. One look would offer a gothic take on imposing historical silhouettes, and the next would have the model laced up in a patent leather two piece.

As varied as the mood of each look was, the styling tied the collection together with an air of sleaziness. With the coffin-shape glitter nails, prop cigarettes, and nameplate necklaces, it was clear Crutchley didn’t take himself or his regal designs too seriously (confirmed as he flipped his guests off during his bow). Any accusations of ‘all gimmick, no craft’, however, would be silenced by a delicately complex crochet dress, mirroring the V-dip of an Elizabethan bodice with its stitches.

Dreaming Eli

Arriving at the Dreaming Eli event, I wasn’t surprised to find myself at another historic venue. Central St Martins graduate Elisa Trombatore usually opts for a presentation rather than a runway, treating guests to whimsical, slow-paced theatrics. For her AW24 collection, ‘The Dead Woman Talks Back’, she chose the stage of a parish church tucked away in the residential streets of Marylebone.

Since the brand’s LFW debut in 2021, Dreaming Eli has built a discourse on femininity, power, and submission. This season was no different, with Trombatore’s distinctive style coming through with the recurrence of corseted forms, the clash of nude tones with harsh dark accents, and an excess of criss-cross lacing. Besides these expected details, ‘The Dead Woman Talks Back’ introduced streetwear elements to the brand: corsets cinched in slogan tees and cargo trousers were given the Trombatore treatment with rough deconstruction and ruching. As models slowly paraded around the candlelit church, a boned look with sharp angled hips exhibited Trombatore’s newly refined skill with artificial silhouettes. Once again, it was the diversity of texture that elevated this collection.

LCF Postgraduate Class of 2024

The final show on my LFW day one schedule was LCF’s very own. For the first time since we all moved to the new East Bank campus in September, the showrooms were put to use to exhibit postgraduate final collections. With the concrete staircase spiralling overhead, the Fashion Design Technology (Womenswear) students presented technically focused pieces from their collections. Models and the designers themselves milled around the space, leaving us with a rare chance to chat with the creators behind the collections. Chen An left an impression with a bright red knitted dress, disrupted with a giant plastic cut out that left the model’s odd socks exposed. Youwang Zhou Zhou’s space was occupied with a swirling dance performance to compliment her abstract spiral silhouettes.

At sudden points throughout the evening, our meandering was interrupted by a ‘flash catwalk’ as models worked their way through the crowd, showing the graduate collections in action. Downstairs, menswear student Ziming Wang took sartorial androgyny in a new direction, choosing to emphasise both genders with soft deconstructed suiting styled with satin skirts and pastel lace hosiery. Taking a break from the usual seminars and presentations, our lecture theatre had a stream of the cinematic fashion films created by graduating menswear students.

Written by LCF Newsroom Content Creator, Mimi Francis-Mearns, BA (Hons) Fashion Journalism and Content Creation.