London Fashion Week, much like last season, isn’t quite how it was this time last year. And we honestly don’t know when that will change. It’s a great privilege to run around to show after show, looking at beautiful garments and spotting A-listers on the front row (and maybe even sitting next to one), and I really, really miss it. Twice a year, it’s exactly like being back at school—you see friends you haven’t seen in a while, you get to gossip, catch up and have a giggle. Yes, there are some ridiculous sights to see too, I won’t deny that, but it’s a moment in the calendar when we all get the chance to really celebrate the creativity of the fashion industry. We can take a step back and see how designers are interpreting our world right now and what they’re looking at in the future. It is art, even if that art can appear silly to some.
The thing is fashion can really take your breath away. A “simple” runway can suddenly alter how everyone wants to dress. There are various moments that have occurred during the fashion month calendar that have stopped us in our tracks. Most recently, an industry friend of mine found Richard Quinn’s September 2019 show so emotional she shed a few tears. There are also moments that came way before I was even a fashion journalist that have remained iconic—Naomi Campbell falling over at Vivienne Westwood to Phoebe Philo’s first-ever Céline show. If all these sound like something you want to look at, I suggest you keep scrolling for 45 of the fashion week moments that stopped us in our tracks.
Victoria Beckham models for Maria Grachvogel during London Fashion Week, 2000.
Cara Delevingne and Karl Lagerfeld walk the runway during the Chanel show, March 2014.
Kate Moss walks the runway at the Louis Vuitton show, March 2011.
A model walks the runway during Alexander McQueen show, October 2009.
Madonna at the Jean Paul Gaultier runway show, 1993.
Christy Turlington walks Chanel’s show in 1994.
Julianne Moore with Kristen Stewart at the Chanel Haute Couture show, July 2015.
Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford at the Versace show, September 2017.
Queen Elizabeth II sits next to Anna Wintour at Richard Quinn’s runway show, February 2018.
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian attend the Kanye West Yeezy Season 4 fashion show, September 2016.
Helena Christensen walks the runway during the Dior Haute Couture show, January 1997.
Cara Delevingne model walks the runway at the Burberry Prorsum, February 2018.
Naomi Campbell trip on the runway at the Vivienne Westwood show, 1993.
Anna Wintour, Kim Kardashian West and North West attend Kanye West Yeezy Season 2 during New York Fashion Week, September 2015.
Karl Lagerfeld and models walk the runway at the Chanel show, September 2014.
Derek Zoolander and Hansel walk the runway at the Valentino Fashion Show during Paris Fashion Week, March 2015.
Models and children on the runway at the Richard Quinn, September 2019.
Mel B (and The Spice Girls) take part in a Julien MacDonald fashion show, September 1999.
Kate Moss behind the scenes of the Matthew Williamson show, 1998.
Dior Haute Couture, January 1998.
Isabella Blow at the opening of a new Christian Lacroix shop, 1995.
Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss attend the Designer of the Year Awards at the Natural History Museum during London Fashion Week, October 1993.
A model walks the runway during the Celine show, October 2009.
A model walks the runway at the Balenciaga Autumn/Winter 2016 fashion show during Paris Fashion Week, March 2016.
A model walks the runway at the Vetements Autumn/Winter 2016 fashion show during Paris Fashion Week, March 2016.
Cara Delevingne and models walk the runway during the Burberry Prorsum show at London Fashion Week, February 2012.
A model walks the runway during the Christian Dior Ready to Wear fashion show as part of the Paris Fashion Week, September 2016.
A model walks the runway at the Gucci show during the Milan Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2015 on February 25, 2015.
Jennifer Lopez walks the runway at the Versace show during the Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020 on September 20, 2019.
Rihanna arrives to attend the Chanel Pret a Porter show as part of the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2010 at Grand Palais on October 6, 2009.
Carla Bruni walks the runway during the Vivienne Westwood Ready to Wear Spring/Summer 1997 show as part of the Paris Fashion Week on September 19, 1996.
A model walks the runway at the Christian Dior Autumn/Winter 2012 fashion show during Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week on July 2, 2012.
Models present creations for Louis Vuitton during the Spring/Summer 2013 ready-to-wear collection show on October 3, 2012.
The Princess of Wales attending a reception at Lancaster House, London, hosted by Norman Lamont, Minister of State for Industry, to mark the end of London Fashion Week, 1985.
Molly Goddard show during London Fashion Week, February 2019.
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and designer Katharine Hamnett, wearing a t-shirt with a nuclear missile protest message, at 10 Downing Street, where she hosted a reception for British Fashion Week designers, 1984.
Naomi Campbell and fashion designer Vivienne Westwood attend the Designer of the Year Awards at the Natural History Museum during London Fashion Week, 19 October 1993.
Vivienne Westwood and Jerry Hall, 1998.
A model walks the runway during the Jacquemus Menswear Spring/Summer 2020 show on June 24, 2019.
Cindy Crawford modelling on the catwalk at a presentation of Dolce & Gabbana’s Spring/Summer collection in Milan, 1991.
David Beckham and Harper Beckham attend the Victoria Beckham show during London Fashion Week, February 2019.
Viktor & Rolf Spring Summer 2019 show as part of Paris Fashion Week in January 2019.
Cindy Crawford walks the runway at the Thierry Mugler show during the Paris Fashion Week in March 1990.
Carla Bruni walks the runway at the Chloe Ready to Wear Fall/Winter 1991-1992 fashion show during the Paris Fashion Week in March 1991.
