There was enormous pressure on British fashion to live up to the hype drummed up by, in no particular order, a McQueen homecoming! A Christopher Kane comeback at a beloved heritage brand! Marks & Spencer’s London Fashion Week debut! If you haven’t yet caught up on H&M’s Nick Knight-imagined spectacle, Chopova Lowena’s bowling alley presentation, complete with dogs and twins, or Simone Rocha’s first solo womenswear collection in some time, spoiler alert: it did. Bumping into BFC CEO Laura Weir after Kane’s leather-laden return at Mulberry in the pub across the road from the QEII Centre, where the show was held, the mass of jubilant journos all agreed that it felt like a moment. even headlined its debrief,

But away from the the excitement stoked by the likes of Central Cee on the Burberry runway, what were the clothes like? Will the international buyers, who were more visible this season, be investing in Erdem’s Barbette-inspired offering? How about KNWLS’s undone aesthetic? From Fashion East’s school of emerging stars, including standout Traiceline Pratt of Goyagoma, to insider favourites, Oscar Ouyang and Paolo Carzana, who returned to the schedule this season, there were curious themes that cropped up on catwalks staged in NEWGEN spaces, working car garages, school sports halls and skate parks alike.

Here, five key trends from London Fashion Week spring/summer 2027.

Scores of shoe collabs kicked into view

It’s near impossible to stage a show – or build a brand – without sponsorship, but how you harness that financial support to feel authentic is a whole conundrum in itself. London’s designers are a scrappy bunch and, aside from snapping up readily available drinks’ backers, the common consensus seems to be that shoe collaborations are the best way to flex business savvy while looking cool and appealing to the masses. Among the brands putting their best feet forward this season are Chopova Lowena, who teamed up with Dr Martens for some tartan stompers; Aaron Esh, with his streamlined version of On’s Cloud trainer; Talia Byre, and her Topshop brogues, which mark the beginning of a fruitful new fashion partnership; Ahluwalia, for Priya’s take on Puma’s slim sneakers; and Mowalola, who injected her signature club cool into Nike’s classic Jordans – to name just a few. Following in the footsteps of Simone Rocha’s beribboned Adidas collab, which launched and promptly sold out one week prior to London Fashion Week, expect these entry-point products to cause quite the commotion upon their launch. Brilliant teamwork that’s good for the bottom line? We’re sold.

Chopova Lowena SS27.

The McQueen effect takes hold

Whatever you make of McQueen’s current direction, its influence was everywhere this season. Nowhere was it more pronounced than at H&M, where Seán McGirr’s favourite model, Alex Consani, opened the show in the kind of cropped Napoleon jacket and low-slung, slim-cut trousers that have become his signatures. The same thigh-tight silhouette, flaring slightly at the ankle, appeared in raffish black leather at Petra Fagerström and Aaron Esh, and in mottled, wood-like jacquards at Talia Byre. These are trousers that change the way you walk, lending confidence to a stomp and a sway through the hips. “She has always been someone who allows herself pleasure without apology,” Fagerström said of the woman she conjured for spring/summer 2027. “I want people to think, ‘I want to be her’.”

Talia Byre SS27.

Searing pink is the city’s hottest Pantone

There’s a myth that most people in fashion stick to a largely monochrome wardrobe; the all-black look is a sure-fire way to spot “an editor or a head of brand or a correspondent or one of the more severe make-up artists” lurking at London Fashion Week. But this season, colour was back on the agenda with shocking pink cropping up in countless collections. At A Letter, a fluoro-pink jacket worn over a Bratish-green dress was the most papped look of the day, while at Talia Byre, it was a toss-up between a shocking-pink pinafore and a matchy-matchy tailored suit with a crisp white cummerbund. Equally, hot pink took over Aaron Esh’s usually grungy palette with feathered skirts and near-fluorescent eveningwear, while Roksanda went for sweeping silk dresses and opera gloves in this season’s hottest hue.

Aaron Esh SS27.

Remember your first cringe-inducing trip to Marks & Sparks’s undies department to buy your first starter bra? Seemingly, a bunch of London's designers are also hooked on the memory. Bralettes – ’40s-focused, flat and frankly doing nothing for your cleavage – cropped up all over the runways, layered over shirting at Erdem, paired with denim and workwear at Goyogama on the Fashion East runway, used as an archetypal starting point at A Letter and informing the deconstructed lingerie looks at KNWLS. A trend that’s going to go boom or bust? Both it would appear, thanks to the 33 different takes on the bralette shown on the Prada runway, on the first day of Milan Fashion Week.

Goyagoma SS27.

Fashion is, by its very nature, ever changing. If there’s one constant, however, it’s an insatiable appetite for nostalgia. The ’90s and ’00s have long been the dominant eras to which designers have looked back on to move forward, but this season saw a number of them cast their sights further to the power-shouldered, jewel-tone satin-swathed excess of the ’80s. From the bold colour blocking and metallic pumps (kindly donated by Zandra Rhodes) at Ellen Poppy Hill to Stefan Cooke’s Montana-esque shoulders and poppy prints – not to mention’s Geordie Campbell’s low-scooping, sleazy muscle-tees inspired by George Michael – London’s indie talents took it right back to the decade of decadence.

Stefan Cooke SS27.