The Fashion Forecast: Everything We Loved At London Fashion Week

London was in a celebratory mood this fashion week. Burberry marked its 170th year with a multitude of elevated trench coats, while London-based designer, Erdem Moralioglu celebrated his 20th anniversary with a show at Tate Britain. The Erdem show served less as a greatest-hits retrospective and more like a meditation on what the designer does best with his eponymous brand: history-laced designs for modern intellectuals, featuring striking gowns in beautiful brocades and satins with ribbons, lace and frothy feathered finishes. These are clothes for modern aesthetes with prolific social calendars.

Threading the shows together in London was this sense of gothic glamour and thrill-seeking. Picture Margot Robbie’s Cathy Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights on a night out in London in 2026. In fact, many fashion editors at Simone Rocha’s show lamented that the Irish designer hadn’t been the one to create the costumes for Emerald Fennell’s ultra-stylized revival of the literary classic. Rocha’s gorgeous fall offering was as whimsical and romantic as we’ve come to expect – this time with a side serving of athleisure, courtesy of an Adidas Originals collaboration.

As we saw in New York, elegant silhouettes and textures are back on the style agenda. But, where the prim bouclé button-ups of yore were neatly tailored and paired with a string of pearls, 2026’s versions come in more directional shapes and finishes. We loved Simone Rocha’s supersized bouclé dress, cinched at the waist with a leather belt; and Erdem’s tweed jacket, styled with a feather mini skirt. If you need further styling cues, look up Lila Moss’s front-row look at Burberry. Perched next to her mother, Kate Moss, Lila wore a yellow tweed trench coat paired with snakeskin pumps and the ultimate London-cool-girl tousled waves.

Our London girl’s tipple of choice? A dirty martini – with green olives – sipped while wrapped up in Burberry’s matching olive-green trench, featuring gun flaps that have been transformed into extravagant ruffles. Creative director Daniel Lee sought to conjure a wardrobe for London after dark, wherever the night might take you. “London offers such a breadth of life at night, and that was really what we wanted to celebrate,” he told Vogue backstage. Olive green cropped up on Paris-born, London-based designer Pauline Dujancourt’s runway too, in the shape of a pretty lace crop-top and matching floaty skirt. Crop tops are set to be the ‘going-out top’ of choice this fall – although, if you’re seeking more demure ways to wear them, look to Simone Rocha and Erdem, who paired theirs with sleek midi skirts topped with neat jackets or cardigans.

Knitwear has really ascended beyond its place as a cozy layering piece in recent seasons, striking out as a bona-fide styling tool. Knotting a cashmere knit in a tonal hue over your shoulders has become shorthand for everyday chic, while tying one in a bold color around your waist shows you really know what you’re at. For fall/winter 2026, designers including Emilia Wickstead and Simone Rocha proposed simply draping a cable-knit over your forearm to add texture and color to your look. Easy yet effective – and a practical takeaway you can replicate now as we await spring’s warmth…

Last season, we heralded the arrival of the red knit after spotting it on stylish tastemakers at New York Fashion Week. And while red was still very much present on the fall/winter ’26 runways, there were two other colors vying for attention: purple and chartreuse. Chic New Yorkers such as Zoë Kravitz and Jennifer Lawrence have already shown us how to give winter layering a joyful lift with bold purple scarves wrapped nonchalantly over puffer coats and tailoring. NET-A-PORTER buying manager Lydia Zacharis is another early adopter of the shade and was photographed at the shows with a purple cable-knit sweater draped over the shoulders of a long black shearling coat, styled with a leopard-print skirt. Designers plumbing for purple next season include Carolina Herrera and buzzy newcomer Colleen Allen. Chartreuse, on the other hand, packed a punch at Kallmeyer, Ulla Johnson and Tory Burch, with tones ranging from citrus brights to glistening metallics. Accessories are always a great way to subtly incorporate color, so consider Khaite’s cult ‘Lotus’ bag in a rich purple, or go all in with Tove’s ruched chartreuse ‘Eira’ gown.

New Yorkers are not ones to be deterred by inclement weather conditions. Despite sub-zero temperatures and slushy streets, crisp white denim was unexpectedly ubiquitous. Archaic rules around white denim and its seasonal appropriateness have long been abandoned, so take yours out of the ‘summer’ section of your closet and style it with a leather jacket, a cashmere knit and ankle boots – the trick is to keep a few inches between the hems and the sidewalk. For bright whites, look to styles by Frame and Citizens of Humanity; for creamier tones, Nili Lotan and Agolde have you covered.

This trend made a return to the runways – think neat boxy jackets and prim pencil skirts – but the overall mood was less about perfection and more about playfulness with artisanal details from Proenza Schouler, unexpected textures from Tory Burch and edgier silhouettes from Khaite keeping looks modern and fresh. Channel the trend by styling Victoria Beckham’s wool-blend twill midi skirt with something fuzzy or slightly sheer on top and a kitten heel. Alternatively, try cinching Gucci’s tweed cardigan in at the waist with a skinny belt, adding Savette’s ‘Symmetry Pochette’ tote and a pair of statement earrings.

Designers really homed in on accessories this season and went to great lengths to show just how much character they can bring to an outfit. Ralph Lauren Collection pinned heirloom-worthy brooches on draped shawl jackets; Khaite topped everything from sheer lace to shearling with floral corsages; and Ulla Johnson, TWP and Khaite all opted for leather gloves in eye-catching colors and textures. Statement belts were everywhere, too – either knotted over dresses or cinched at the waist of skirts and pants. Meanwhile, off the runway, chic show-goers declared oversized aviator sunglasses the go-to shape for fall. Get ahead on your favorite styles with these standout pieces by Completedworks, Nour Hammour and Khaite – and consider your day-to-day outfits transformed.