London Fashion Week : The Style of Resilience
The annual 'ecosystem of style' wraps up - here's our take.
The air inside the venue is thick with a specific kind of electric anticipation, a high-frequency energy that only precedes a London Fashion Week debut; it’s a living, breathing ecosystem of style. A low, rhythmic hum of people chatting fills the hall - a flurry of stars draped in deconstructed denim, heavy silver hardware, and towering platform boots, a wave of faux furs clashing gloriously against vintage tweed. Proving that in London, more is always more.
London Fashion Week is in full swing for the fall/ winter 2026 season, commencing on Thursday 19 February and running through to Monday 23 February. It is the ultimate celebration of fashion talent, but two events in particular stood out to us at Helmet to Heels for their focus on international designers whose countries are dealing with particular political turmoil and repression.
On Friday 20 was the 7th edition of the UA in UK Fashion Show, spotlighting the collections of seven Ukrainian designers who continue producing and presenting their work despite the severe challenges caused by the war back home, including electricity and heating cuts. The show was produced by VOLKOVA PR & Talent Agency and UA in UK Community with support of Devonshire Square.
Participating brands included MORANDI, SELERA, Freya Vanadis, FÁBBY, Natti Nattu, NOVITSKA, and menswear label ÁLTA MEN. The show began with a minute of silence to honour the Ukrainians who have lost their lives during the war, and held just four days before the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the evening embodied the resilience and creative force of Ukraine’s fashion industry as a vivid expression of Ukrainian identity and spirit.
Volkova PFA’s founder Aleksandra Volkova told H2H: “this show is manifest of our creativeness, our talents and about Ukrainian power in this industry”. “War started in Ukraine, and we gathered here in the UK to help and support each other. Now we create together this huge show [that] gives brands from Ukraine the bravery to be visible, to get new markets, to get new clients”.
The runway featured womenswear and menswear collections defined by clean silhouettes, modern tailoring, sustainability practices, and upcycling. In a symbolic gesture of solidarity, members of London’s business and influencer community walked the runway alongside professional models.
One model was Vladyslav Bernyk, the owner of B. Bakery and a Ukrainian and European champion in ballroom dancing. Speaking about his participation in the show he noted, “It’s a fantastic opportunity to connect. That’s why I’m here and why this is so interesting to me. We’re currently planning to grow beyond a Ukrainian audience and reach an English-speaking one as well, and building connections in the UK is our first and most important step. Сonnections are power.”
One of the Ukrainian brands, FABBY, was founded in 2024 by designer Anastasiia Portna. After working as a model for fifteen years, Portna dreamed of becoming a designer herself.
Two years ago she succeeded in her mission, presenting a brand rooted in a gothic-romantic aesthetic, sculptural silhouettes, and timeless design. “I want to bring the gothic to the contemporary” she said, “I’m inspired by the darkness, I want to be like Tim Burton in the fashion world”.
FABBY’s Spring collection is inspired by Dracula (1992) - a story of eternal love where passion transcends time. At its core lies a gothic-romantic aesthetic: dramatic, sensual, and timeless.
The imagined narrative unfolds within a French castle - cold stone walls, dimly lit halls, flowing drapery, and a silence filled with emotion. The collection captures this atmosphere: mystical and deeply romantic, where each look feels like a scene from an everlasting love story.
Saturday 21 February Fashion Discover London held its third edition, presenting a new-format international showcase during London Fashion Week. With a focus on neurodiversity and dyslexia awareness, the event provided emerging global brands with a platform to introduce themselves to the UK market and connect with London’s editorial, retail, and buyer communities. The participants were Marva Nazari, Thira Taf, Aql & Nafs and Art Chase Series by Marlon James-Edwards.
Also hosted by UA in UK Community and VOLKOVA PR & Talent Agency, the show presented womenswear and unisex collections, bringing together more than two hundred high-profile guests, including TV hosts, actors, influencers, entrepreneurs, investors, editors, buyers, creative directors, and cultural figures from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
An H2H favorite often worn by our founder Suzanne Kianpour, one of the most striking brands was Aql & Nafs - a high fashion label rooted in Afghan heritage and craftsmanship. The name is composed of Aql (reason عقل) and Nafs (soul, desire نفس), and reflects that sustainable fashion is buying something with consciousness.
In a country in which women are oppressed by the Taliban, women embroider Afghan coats from home, which are then transported to the West. “[The women] see the pieces that they made from home in a small village somewhere in Afghanistan, and they see it on the runway or in a photoshoot and it means so much to them. It’s a lifeline for them” the designers told Helmet to Heels.
The catwalk displayed the iconic coats that during the 1960s and 1970s became a symbol of counterculture, worn by cultural icons such as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and later David Bowie.
Wearing a flowing red and black thobe with a black leather harness from the collection, Iranian model Vesta Garakani said that “fashion means to be yourself and be free”.
Another key participant was the Art Chase Series by Marlon James-Edwards, a dyslexic entrepreneur and advocate for neurodiversity. Through education and fashion, Marlon James-Edwards works to normalise neurodivergence and challenge stigmas surrounding dyslexia. He is the recipient of the British Dyslexia Association’s Inspirational Teacher Award 2024.
The idea was conceived during COVID, when James-Edwards and business partner Liselle Joslyn reflected that there needed to be more awareness and accommodations for neurodiversity.
When asked how neurodivergent considerations are incorporated into the brand, the designers described that “for a lot of people with ADHD and autism, feeling materials can sooth their mood. We started with organic cotton, now its organic cord, and we think about recycled materials. Materials that have been broken down and worn are usually more soothing”.
The models paraded an impressive mix of streetwear: hoodies layered with bomber jackets and alien-esque goggle beanies.
The show also marked the official debut of designer Marva Nazari, who presented her first-ever collection before a major international audience. With Afghan parents but raised in Ukraine, Nazari wants to represent the sizable Afghan community in Ukraine; “the topic of Muslims in Ukraine is quite taboo, and I want to be a representative for Ukrainian Muslims”.
The collection focuses on upcycling, and features denim infused skirts and trousers with royal red velvet accents and embellished gold headpieces.
What was potent about these events was that the designers’ backgrounds were international, mostly colliding with countries that are undergoing particular political turmoil and repression.
So, in such a turbulent world, London fashion week stood as a space for expression, freedom and humanity.