Daniel Fletcher kickstarted London Fashion Week with his spring 2023 fashion show at The Londoner Hotel’s ballroom with a one-minute silence, paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, whose funeral will be held Monday.
The collection was also dedicated to his father, as well as three of his close friends: Ganky, Alice, and Banks, who all passed away in the past year.
Underneath the collection’s overall somber tone, Fletcher is not trying to tell people, “Look at me, I am so sad.”
Instead, he presented a case study of London that was full of positive thinking. He based the looks on all walks of life in the British capital, while self-referencing and updating signature styles and bestsellers with deadstock fabrics from Nona Source, a platform that sources waste fabrics from LVMH brands.
“I’ve lived in London for 10 years now and I was really thinking about the people who’ve made the city what it is today,” said Fletcher backstage. “Looking at the punks of Kings Road to the pearly queens in Soho, right back to the businessman in the city, and gentry who’ve put things into the city.”
There were proper check coats and jackets made by skilled tailors, corsets repurposed as tank tops, and sleek eveningwear numbers, designed in collaboration with Marta Jakubowski. There were also fun pieces like country kilts wrapped with faux fur, furry shearling bags made with Scandi label Axel Arigato, and silky shorts in blue, red and black.
Fletcher revealed that he had to make some last-minute changes to reflect the mood of the nation, but not doing a show was never an option. He changed the music to lyric-free and opened the show with an all-black look that was made after the death of the queen.
The show felt respectful, despite some attendees raising their middle fingers during the silence. Regardless, Fletcher set a good example for all the brands set to present in the following days.
