Chaos has been a constant part of London’s identity throughout its history , the positive type. For example, it has produced designers like Alexander McQueen who make tailored clothing with scalpel cuts and Vivienne Westwood turned punk into a form of protest. And, in 2026, London has once again reinvented itself through fashion, this time, the upcoming women designers from London making noise are doing it on their own very loud, very specific terms. We aren’t referring to the newest largest home or the next trending Burberry item. We’re referring to women who are creating items from nothing using Hackney Bus stations and penthouses in Vauxhall, with seven person teams; and a vision of what the rest of the industry is slowly beginning to align with. So let’s look at who’s really worthy of your focus.
The London Fashion Week Scene Right Now
Real change is palpable at London Fashion Week this year, thanks in large part to new BFC CEO Laura Weir’s scrapping of high five-figure off-schedule fees that were seemingly destroying small brands, extending Newgen funding for another three years, and significantly increasing the international press presence. As a result, there is an uncharacteristically exciting schedule of shows, now filled with emerging designers who have something important to say, and actual voices that the industry is valuing more than simply nodding along.
Historically, NewGen, the BFC’s programme that has supported such iconic fashion talent as Jonathan Anderson and Simone Rocha before they achieved ‘superstar’ status, has been recognised as the leading new talent solution for British fashion. And this season’s list of participating designers , who are tackling size inclusivity, cultural identity, and exploring new materials , is predominantly comprised of female designers that are completely willing to risk ‘safe’ designs.
Talia Byre
If you haven’t already done so, make a note of this name: Talia Byre. The Harry Styles hairdresser’s brand,a label created by Warrington-born, East London based designer Talia Lipkin-Connor,has been among the most thrilling British brands to emerge in recent years. She graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2020 and launched her brand during lockdown in her sister’s bedroom in Camden (just like you), spending five years developing something that is incredibly personal and authentic to her.
The name of the brand is derived from her great uncle’s boutique, Lucinda Byre, a storied multi-level woman’s clothing retailer located at the top of Bold Street, in Liverpool, where it operated from 1964 to 1982. Although Lipkin-Connor never visited the shop, the mythology surrounding it has been passed down to her through the women of her family, their closets, their stories, and their impeccable taste.
What She Makes
The clothing she designs is provocative without being overt. Twisted cuts, unconstructed knits and dress aprons worn conservatively from both the front and the back create outfits that will make you do a double take and want to take it from the person wearing it. Her Spring 2026 collection called Real Estate was inspired by the book of the same name by Deborah Levy. It was about how women connect to their homes and have the ability to own property. The collaboration with UGG from this collection is a collection of shoes that consists of studded ballerina flats, shearling clogs and extended ankle boots; all of which were all of the most coveted shoes for the season.
She was nominated for the BFC/Vogue designer fund and participated in the BFC/Vogue fashion awards with Conner Ives and Dilara Fındıkoğlu, she held her AW26 runway show at the Asprey Building in Vauxhall; 85 attendees vs 30 attendee salon presentations prior year. Her Bolter handbag is a personalised bag containing charms that her entire team had been using which have grown into cult handbags.
London’s next generation of female designers will start and finish this conversation for 2026.
Karoline Vitto
Now comes the time where we really start getting nit-picky, because, quite frankly, this industry’s deserving of it! Talking about body diversity in the fashion industry and on runways should have ended years ago and will probably never end by 2026. However, Judging by the way the fashion industry has treated Karoline Vitto , A designer from Brazil living/working in England who continues to be a prime exampleof this dedication to size inclusivity thru fabric rather than using it “as a decoration”.
Designing for Real Bodies
Vitto creates cut-out apparel that is built around real bodies and shapes that the fashion industry normally has a tendency to ignore when they step onto the runway, so her Autumn/Winter 2026 collection was heavily influenced by both the 1990s and 2000s, which are also infamous for producing the heroin chic look. The cut-outs were celebratory rather than a way to provoke negativity, and the overall message of Vitto’s Autumn/Winter 2026 collection was very clear and still extremely radical , that clothing should fit a woman’s body instead of a woman being forced into a piece of clothing.
Vitto was missed from the Spring 2026 collections; her absence was felt and talked about. Her return to the Autumn/Winter 2026 runway felt like a necessary correction to something about the runway schedule that had been missing while she had not been present. Vitto was able to cast models of all shapes and sizes (up to a size 22), and because her designs were made to fit real women, every model modelled the clothing beautifully.
Vitto is part of the BFC’s NewGen programme, and her example demonstrates why that programme is necessary. London fashion has an established history of being progressive, and such designers as Vitto are the key to keeping the promise of this progressive London fashion scene alive.
Ronan Mckenzie , Selasi
Ronan Mckenzie is more than just a designer; she’s also a photographer, an artist, a curator and founder of Home, a multidisciplinary arts space in London run by Black people, which had to shut its doors due to the pandemic. The Selasi label, after the Ewe phrase meaning ‘God hears us’, began as pictures but has since grown into a clothing line.
A Runway Debut Worth Watching
Mckenzie staged a public, on-schedule debut during AW26 at London Fashion Week by taking over a sports hall in central London and presenting something unexpected that took inspiration from the gym classes of school. She incorporated a bleep test into her show, transformed kits from the Walthamstow School for Girls archive (her high school), Pangaia tracksuits, and had a live performance from the English National Ballet , and there was lots of buzz about it and for good reason.
Mckenzie’s minimalism is the opposite of ‘cold’ or ‘empty.’ Mckenzie’s minimalism is methodical, driven by an extensive investigation of materials, as well as answering the questions of the people and how they are going to see. Mckenzie’s minimalism has developed as a visual language through photography, film and now through fashion, and there is no doubt that without her, the industry as it stands now would not exist. Selasi can be found on Net-A-Porter, so the remainder of the industry will know about her sooner than later.
Petra Fagerström
Petra Fagerström has been non-stop since winning L’Oréal Professionnel Creative Award from Central Saint Martins MA. Shortly after, she won Milan’s Challenge the Fabric Award, became an LVMH Prize semifinalist, and got her work stocked at Dover Street Market, 10 Corso Como, and H Lorenzo, all in quick succession, resulting in extreme disorientation for most people!
The Figure-Skating Designer
The inspiration for the AW26 collection presented during London Fashion Week comes from how the artist’s experience with figure skating and being called a child prodigy impacts her and creates a tremendous amount of pressure. In addition to helping meet those expectations, the amount of expectation she has placed on herself can never really be realized. The collections base fabric contains a trompe l’oeil lenticular print pattern that will change depending on how you look at it, creating a disorientating visual effect. Moreover, both coaches and powerful parental figures of children competing in our respective worlds are represented by the way materials such as sequins and structured cuts/tailoring were used in the collection.
She will be in the spotlight during LVMH Prize Presentation on March 4, 2026 , described as representation of why London is one of, if not the, greatest cities for designers.
The Bigger Picture
While all of these women have their unique style and aesthetic; what connects these women is their commitment to doing something concrete and authentic – reflecting who they really are – in a city which still offers creative people the possibility of being both strange and earnest.
London is losing its designers to Paris – Victoria Beckham, Stella McCartney and Grace Wales Bonner have left. The design community wrings its hand over these departures, but there is also a sense of pride that the next generation of designers (who come through programs such as: NewGen; Fashion East; Central St. Martins,) is beginning to create their own presence, independently of wherever these women may now reside. The upcoming women designers from London in 2026 are not waiting for Paris to notice them. Their creations will influence Paris, New York, and Milan. London has always had its own unique take on fashion; it never conformed to outside trends. Therefore, people are following London more closely than ever before.
