7 Emerging British Designers You Need to Know

London Fashion Week is always a treat—especially during the fall collections, when Central Saint Martins showcases its emerging talent. The city is known for fostering young artists, and this fall 2022 season was no different. We saw tons of great designers, including the sustainability-focused Lula Laora; AGR’s experimental knitwear; and the conceptual, couture-inflected fashions of Sofia Turekova—in addition to a few of our favorite returning brands: Conner Ives, Robyn Lynch, and Nensi Dojaka (the latter’s first collection since winning the LVMH prize). Below, we’ve highlighted seven up-and-coming brands from London who deserve to be on your list of ones to watch.

Conner Ives

This fall was Conner Ives’s solo runway debut, after showing as a part of Fashion East for the past few seasons. Individualistic and modern, each of Ives’s looks were inspired by different American archetypes, from which he drew inspiration for the entire collection. Ives claims that he will only showcase a new collection once a year moving forward.

Robyn Lynch

Robyn Lynch put forth her first highly anticipated runway show after Covid hit pause on her previous plans to present; like many designers, she was forced to show all her designs digitally, until the world opened up again. Lynch produced her first two collections for Fashion East out of her family home in Ireland in 2019. The designer displayed her runway show at the main hub for many designers during London Fashion Week—the Old Selfridges Hotel space. Also on view at Lynch’s show: 10 new pieces in collaboration with Columbia, which caused drew great excitement from the crowd. Personally, I think this is just the beginning of what Robyn Lynch has in store for the fashion world.

Nensi Dojaka

After being awarded the 2021 LVMH prize, audiences were curious to see what Nensi Dojaka intended on sending down her fall 2022 runway. Having honed a pretty precise vision of what the Nensi Dojaka woman is in the past year, Dojaka seemed to expand a bit with this collection; introducing new silhouettes and fabrics, such as puffer coats, leather tailoring, gowns and sequins. I’m looking forward to seeing what is next on Nensi Dojaka’s romantic, sexy, and minimal fashion agenda.

Jessan Macatangay

As soon as the models stepped onto the CSM runway, I knew that this collection was different from the rest—even down to the hair and makeup, Jessan Macatangay’s offering for fall 2022 felt extremely clear and well-executed. The designer experimented with sculptural sensuality, creating thoughtfully shaped garments for each of the models who wore them. Everything from the color palette to the uniquely shaped shoes, was entirely directional.

Lula Laora

Lula Laora is a London-based women’s and men’s fashion brand, creating custom-made, limited-edition pieces from 100 percent upcycled materials. Her designs are vibrant, bold, and always statement-making—and I’m always a huge proponent for sustainable fashion.

Danshan

Design duo Danxia Liu and Shan Peng created their brand Danshan after graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2016. With each collection, the duo strives to skirt gender norms—using their designs and brand ethos as a platform for dissolving antiquated archetypes.

AGR

This knitwear brand based out of South London has already been picked up by Dover Street Market, and with good reason—each design is bold, colorful, and contemporary. AGR’s pieces will cause you to rethink whatever previous views you held on knitwear.