The Labels To Watch During LFW

London Fashion Week officially kicks off today with 83 designers scheduled to present their Fall/Winter 2016 collections over the next five days. And while this is the shortest of the four fashion cities showing, London by far is one of our favorites.

Fun, quirky and creatively unreserved, the designers previewing during this short stretch are some of the most innovative of the bunch, which is why we’re showing you a few to keep on your fashion radar.

Alice Archer

Year founded: 2015

Backstory: Royal College of Art graduate Alice Archer was discovered by Simon Burstein of Browns. He loved her work so much that he set up The Place London to showcase her talent, where she also has a studio. Her collections harness a unique technique that combines print and embroidery, exploring the use of color and texture simultaneously. Alice uses this process to translate the oil painted surfaces of the paintings she has been inspired by into embroidery, resulting in elaborate floral detailing on luxurious fabrics. 

Sadie Williams

Year founded: 2015

Backstory: Sadie Williams is a fashion and textile designer, born and based in London. Often mixing odd combinations of juxtaposing influences together to create modern and playful work, she developed and refined her design aesthetic at Central Saint Martins. She takes us into her space shuttle this season, with her new moon landing esque Fall/Winter 2016 collection.

Faustine Steinmetz

Year founded: 2013

Backstory: This Parisian born designer began her studies in Paris before moving to London to complete her Masters in the prestigious Central Saint Martins. Having worked for the likes of Jeremy Scott and Henrik Vibskov, all of Faustine’s pieces are made based on her belief in craftsmanship over trend. She turned the idea of denim inside out with her first collection, and the intricate hand-loomed pieces she created from recycled thrift-store jeans won the fashion industry over. 

Ryan Lo

Year founded: 2014

Backstory: Romantic fantasy is the consistent theme in the work of Ryan. Drawing inspirations from current pop culture and childhood nostalgia, Ryan crafts his designs with an unconventional DIY approach having taught himself to knit from YouTube tutorials. Since launching his label he has also acquired a new level of sophistication, yet his rule breaking, maximalist sensibilities still see him send an unexpectedly modern wardrobe down the runway. 

Molly Goddard

Year founded: 2014

Backstory: West London native Molly Goddard began to specialize in traditional hand-craft techniques such as hand pleating, smocking and crocheting during her BA in Fashion Knit at Central St Martins. Her work touches upon themes of special occasions, nostalgia and coming of age, often taking inspiration from party dresses and Sunday best. The techniques that she utilizes serve to create clothes that are both delicate and fragile, often bringing a clumsy and charming awkwardness to her silhouettes and fabric combinations.

Steventai

Year founded: 2012

Backstory: A self-professed bookworm, Vancouver-born Steven Tai’s unique blend of intellect and irony presents a refreshingly new take on the woman who stands confidently apart from the mainstream. With a BA in Fashion Design from London’s Central St Martins, Steven worked at top design houses including Viktor & Rolf and Stella McCartney before debuting his own label.

Xiao Li

Year Founded: 2014

Backstory: Pushing the boundaries between knitwear and silicone, Xiao Li is best known for her witty twists on the current fashion system, using colorful, voluminous shapes, and innovative yarns and textures. Studying BA Fashion Womenswear at London College of Fashion, subsequently at Royal College of Art, where she graduated with an MA in Womenswear Knitwear in 2013, Xiao began attracting attention back in 2012, when her structured, bubble gum knitted garments won the Pitti Filati ‘Feel the Yarn’ competition, an award for innovative knitwear. 

Rejina Pyo

Year founded: 2013

Backstory: Seoul-born designer Rejina Pyo combines graphic inspirations from abstract art with an elegant, subtle femininity giving us deceptively simple, contemporary-priced pieces that have struck a chord with the fashion set. While most emerging designers initially work under the notion that more is more, we love Rejina’s confidence to keep everything pared back and unique. 

This is the uniform

Year Founded: 2013

Backstory: Jenna Young launched her brand in 2013 after completing a fine art textile degree at Goldsmiths University. Conceptual in its design ethos, This is The Uniform aims to explore social and cultural ideas, while focusing heavily on quality and functionality (each piece is manufactured in the UK). Her debut collection included re-workings of the humble tracksuit in sheers with ribbon stripes, oversized smocked satin tops and cropped halters in ruby red tones.

Alexander Lewis

Year founded: 2012

Backstory: Half Brazilian and half American, Lewis spent his youth crisscrossing the globe: Born in Chicago, schooled in England and university in L.A, not to mention lots of trips back to his beloved Brazil. Then settling in London where he learned his tailored craft at Norton & Sons and E. Tautz on Savile Row. His debut collection showed Lewis as an innovative textile designer, with luxe knits and fabrics developed in-house, and affirmed his desire to do his own thing. Rather than design for fashion seasons, Lewis designs for fashion situations, imagining his women as they set forth into new and exciting experiences.