London Fashion Week started off with some of my new and always favorites, the first of which is Nensi Dojaka.

The winner of the LVMH Prize continues her mission to make clothes of understated sensuality. She shows skin without the brash connotations.

Her clothes are also about a woman who is in control of her narrative. It reflects the feelings we will carry as we emerge from the trauma of the past two years. It’s about freedom, partying and blurring the lines.

What Dojaka has accomplished from meshing lingerie with the perennial little black dress speaks to a wide audience. Fast fashion is slowly taking inspiration, and the brand remains a favorite among TikTok’s coolest.

For Fall-Winter 2022, Dojaka told Vogue of the collection, “I just wanted to introduce a bit more of a wider concept of what this woman can be.”

Always playing with a diverse range of influences is Molly Goddard. It was back to an actual runway for the designer, and the collection was a curious mix.

Hometown throwback

She told Vogue, “I thought she was a cross between Marilyn Monroe and Mick Jones [of The Clash] and I based this collection around her.” Goddard was referring to a woman from her mom’s circle.

In Goddard’s collection were her signature ruffled patterns and comfortable sweaters. They were oversized and comfortable in sparkly fabrics with patterns that gave you that hometown throwback.

Someone like Simone Rocha always manages to bring some myth into her works. For this collection, she was inspired by the Children of Lir. The Irish story is about the lives of four daughters and sons turned into swans by their stepmother. Upon returning to their human form, they meet death.

In the bleakness of the story, Rocha finds magic in the folds of the fabric, embroidered swans, biker jackets with unconventional dresses.

Raf Simons began his show by presenting a blue cloak suspended from a hat—created with Stephen Jones. The inspiration? Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s 1559 painting “Netherlandish Proverbs.” The motif continues on through various jackets and dresses, a testimony to Simons’ love for making his clothes speak for him. INQ