Most people watch for the collections. Creatives watch what sits around them. How the city absorbs the week, how venues get repurposed and how new designers get space alongside the names that built the calendar.

This season ran Thursday to Monday and opened with King Charles sitting front row at Tolu Coker. Not a PR stunt, a statement. The monarch next to Stella McCartney and Roksanda, watching a British-Nigerian designer present a collection rooted in her London upbringing, her Yoruba heritage and sharp tailoring. That positioning said more about where London sits culturally than any campaign could.

Designers seemed to lean into concept over commerce. Graduate-led presentations, independent voices, work that interrogated identity, migration and materiality without trying to sell you a lifestyle first. That intellectual density is what keeps London so relevant.

Simone Rocha collaborated with adidas. Sheer dresses, bows, florals and sequins, all sitting next to sportswear in a way that shouldn't work but did. Erdem marked 20 years with a collection that mashed historical romance with bra tops and denim, refusing the neat retrospective arc everyone expected.

Outside the shows, the city did what it always does around this time of year. Editors between venues, students near entrances, independent photographers building portfolios on pavements. Designers show alongside emerging voices because the system is built to make space for both. Venues get chosen for their history and their community ties, not just their Instagram potential. 

February in London means layering, umbrellas as props and practical boots anchoring every outfit. The weather becomes part of the visual language whether you plan for it or not. Most do, and for good reason. 

Shot of the good stuff.