[Source: Reuters]

London Fashion Week kicked off on Friday with Irish designer Paul Costelloe championing classic looks and Turkish-born Bora Aksu taking inspiration from sculptor Eva Hesse as the showcase event celebrates its 40th birthday.

Costelloe presented a mix of whites, dark greys and plenty of tweeds in his “Once upon a Time” autumn/winter 2024 collection, described as “Where Limerick meets Downtown New York”.

Models in white jackets and floaty skirts opened the show. There was a selection of plaid looks, followed by tailored tweed skirt suits, belted coats and short feminine dresses in darker shades. For the evening, there were patterned frocks with puffy sleeves.

“This collection expresses my view that classic design still has its place in high fashion,” Costelloe said in show notes.
“I have added a personal moment of nostalgia by adding a print based on the street where I once lived. It was a glorious moment to dream and live.”

Costelloe’s team also shared a note from the designer, 78, explaining his absence due to a virus and wishing London Fashion Week a “happy 40th birthday”.

This year marks 40 years since the British Fashion Council (BFC) held its first London Fashion Week, which is one of the four big catwalk fixtures alongside New York, Milan and Paris and is best known for its emerging talent and avant-garde trends.

On Thursday night, several London landmarks were lit up green and other celebrations are planned for the year.

“Of course, 40 is kind of a coming of age, a maturity and when we look back, I think we reflect on the incredible creativity that has come through London, and London Fashion Week as a platform,” BFC Chief Executive Caroline Rush told Reuters.

Using a more muted colour palette than usual, Bora Aksu presented “a darker look that reflects the trauma expressed through Hesse’s work” for his fall line, taking inspiration from the sculptor’s work and life after visiting Hamburg, her birthplace before fleeing Nazi Germany in 1938.