Three fashion designers explore desire at London Fashion Week

by Léa Zetlaoui.

What’s left of the London Fashion Week?

In less than five years, the London Fashion Week has lost some of its prestige. Already weakened by Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, British brands suffered another blow in 2024. The reason? The closure of MatchesFashion, the online retailer specialising in luxury goods, as emphasised by FashionNetwork.

Be that as it may, some brands are still managing to attract the spotlight despite the grey skies looming over the British fashion industry. Among the runway shows that marked the Fall/Winter 2025-2026 London Fashion Week, three fashion designers stood out.

Although their creative worlds may differ, Simone Rocha, Dilara Findikoglu and Dimitra Petsa have one thing in common this season. Their collections, both sensual and subversive, explore feminine desire from a wide range of perspectives.

Dilara Findikoglu follows in the footsteps of McQueen and Margiela

Dilara Findikoglu is beyond any doubt now one of the key figures of the London Fashion Week. But her influence doesn’t stop there. With her decadent, punk collections, filled with historical references, she appears as Lee Alexander McQueen’s natural heir. Just like the legendary Scottish fashion designer, who passed away in 2011, the Anglo-Turkish designer studied fashion at Central Saint Martins.

She graduated in 2015 and launched her eponymous label the following year. Since then, the woman who collaborated with John Galliano for his last show at Maison Margiela has continued to make a name for herself, in particular thanks to her highly feminist and uncompromising vision – two aspects sorely lacking in contemporary fashion.

Entitled Venus in Chaos, Dilara Findikoglu’s Fall/Winter 2025-2026 show called on women to rebel as each silhouette exuded a powerful and assertive sensuality. The pieces evoked flesh, skin, bodies and the organic, through laced up, leather corsets and trousers mimicking armours, and embroideries made from shells and fibres.

Although the references to Alexander McQueen, like the low-rise trousers and historical inspirations, to Martin Margiela with the hair jacket, and to Olivier Theyskens with the tattooed dress are sometimes too obvious, the power of this collection commands admiration. And let’s be honest, the fashion industry is desperately waiting for someone to take over after these lost geniuses.

Di Petsa’s catwalk showcases desire and subversion

Di Petsa was first discovered in 2020, thanks to the singer Yseult. During her performance for Colors, the French diva sported one of the wet-effect, white dresses that have become the brand’s signature piece. With her sensual fashion label launched in 2019, Dimitra Petsa quickly won over the Kardashian sisters and Gigi Hadid.

But six years on, and with the energy of her early days fading, the Greek designer, who also graduated from Central Saint Martins, needed to renew herself. Especially since Dior and Margiela have come up with similar designs as hers, like tulle silhouettes inspired by Greek deities.

In her Fall/Winter 2025-2026 show, Reflections of Desire, Dimitra Petsa explored love in all its forms, from romanticism and divine sexuality to erotic literature and desire theory. As in the Dilara Findikoglu’s show, women and femininity are central.

The bridal looks are sensual, even erotic, and celebrate two places designed for pleasure, emotion and power: the breasts and the pelvis. The body materialises desire, while lace lingerie becomes jewellery, an adornment when draped around the body. The centerpiece of Di Petsa’s show is, of course, ecstasy. Who could resist the expression of the pleasure that fashion can offer?

Simone Rocha’s romanticism flirts with BDSM

There are two types of fashion designers: the prolix ones, who like to discuss their collections, and the laconic ones, who prefer to let their creations speak for themselves. Simone Rocha undoubtedly falls into the last category. And, is that really a problem?

Well-known and acclaimed by the fashion industry, the Irish designer who launched her label in 1997 has had an exemplary career. In less than fifteen years, Simone Rocha has established a signature silhouette at the crossroads between poetry and impertinence. For this Fall/Winter 2025-2026 show, Simone Rocha told Vogue Runway that she was inspired by a conversation with her former director, Miss Ruddock, who had told her the fable of The Hare and the Tortoise. Naturally, she identified herself with the second character in Jean de La Fontaine’s famous tale.

Since she refused to give extensive details about her collection, we took the liberty of offering our own interpretation. True to her romantic style, Simone Rocha ventured into a new, subversive territory. Faux fur, leather and thick chains give her collection some rather unexpected BDSM references, which is more than fine with us.

Traduction Emma Naroumbo Armaing.