YES! TO THE FEEL-GOOD FASHION SHOW

Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor at Large

London Fashion Week is upon us once again and this year marks the 30th anniversary of the event. I might only have been going to LFW for a couple of years, during which it has always been a slick and glossy affair, but one idea which I had somehow picked up long before fashion week was a reality in my life was that London was the place where newness and diversity ruled. From the very beginnings when designers like Bodymap were a big feature to the model sanctuary which ran between 2008 and 2011 to the international reputation for producing first-class emerging designer talent, London's badge of honour has always been its point of difference and feel-good factor.

'Pansexual' rapper Angel Haze at DKNY (via style.com0
There's a new movement brewing in the fashion show genre and it will be fascinating to see if and how London partakes. During the last Paris fashion week, Rick Owens presented his new collection not on conventional models but instead dressed a troupe of strong, muscular step dancers. Maybe Owns started something because in New York this week DKNY transformed its usual show, this time street casting models of all shapes and colours, as well as a transgender DJ and performer Juliana Huxtable. Hood by Air, a really exciting and relatively new label by Shayne Oliver, brought in a crowd of seemingly gender neutral vogue dancers to create a memorable finale to their show.

Voguing dancers at Hood by Air (via style.com)
Shows like these make you feel excited and fascinated, even if you're not actually there. It's a vibrant and uplifting way to display fashion. Question is, will we see more of the same in London, the city where this kind of show was pioneered?