London Fashion Week 2026 Opens With Major Designer Debuts

London Fashion Week 2026 opened in the capital on September 17, bringing five days of runway shows, presentations and off-schedule cultural events to the British capital. The British Fashion Council has billed the September edition as a return to form for the city, with major heritage houses back on the schedule alongside a new generation of designers.

Running from September 17 to 21, the spring/summer 2027 season of London Fashion Week 2026 is anchored by two of the most talked-about debuts of the year: Christopher Kane's first collection for Mulberry, and Seán McGirr's first London show as creative director of McQueen. According to the British Fashion Council, the provisional schedule blends established names including Burberry, Erdem, Simone Rocha, Roksanda, Harris Reed and Richard Quinn with emerging talent backed by the BFC's NEWGEN programme.

Christopher Kane returns with Mulberry

The headline show of London Fashion Week 2026 takes place on September 20 at 3pm, when Mulberry stages its first runway show in six years. Titled "Mulberry by Christopher Kane", it marks the Scottish designer's first collection since closing his eponymous label in 2023, and the leather goods house's first womenswear range since the autumn/winter 2020 line under former creative director Johnny Coca.

Kane was appointed Mulberry's creative director of women's ready-to-wear in March 2026 and charged with relaunching the Somerset-based brand's clothing line, an appointment that quickly became one of the defining storylines of London Fashion Week 2026. "It is an honour to return to London Fashion Week with Mulberry, I am so grateful to the BFC and fashion community for their support since the announcement," Kane said. "It's an exciting time and I look forward to sharing SS27 with everyone."

The show sits inside Mulberry's "Back to the Mulberry Spirit" turnaround strategy under chief executive Andrea Baldo, which aims to push the brand back into ready-to-wear after it ended its clothing and footwear licence with Onward Luxury Group in 2020. "London has long been a global platform for creativity and culture, making it the ideal stage to debut the Mulberry by Christopher Kane collection," Baldo said in a statement, adding that showing at London Fashion Week 2026 underlined the company's commitment to British talent, creativity and craftsmanship. The collection will reach stores and Mulberry's website in January 2027, according to the brand.

Kane's career gives the appointment extra weight. A Central Saint Martins graduate who founded his label with his sister Tammy in 2006, he has won four British Fashion Awards including Womenswear Designer of the Year, worked with Donatella Versace, and counts Rihanna and Michelle Obama among his wearers. Kering bought a 51 per cent stake in his label in 2013 before he bought it back five years later, and he shut the business during the pandemic.

What else is on the schedule

McQueen also returns to the London schedule, with Seán McGirr presenting his first London show for the house at London Fashion Week 2026, covering both menswear and womenswear for spring/summer 2027. BFC chief executive Laura Weir said the season marked "an exciting moment for London Fashion Week, with the return of leading British brands alongside an exceptional new generation of creative talent."

Emerging designers get their moment at London Fashion Week 2026 too. Francesca Lake, Gui Rosa and Petra Fagerström make their London Fashion Week debuts as BFC NEWGEN recipients, while Fashion East returns to the schedule after fresh investment from the BFC into its talent support scheme.

One of the more unexpected additions is Marks & Spencer, which joins the official schedule of London Fashion Week 2026 for the first time with an exclusive runway collection. The high street retailer will show a "see now, buy now" womenswear and menswear collection to mark its centenary year, a sign of how much retail and consumer engagement now shape the week. You can read the full schedule announcement from the British Fashion Council via TheIndustry.fashion.

Why this season matters

London Fashion Week 2026 arrives as British fashion tries to convert attention back into sales, and that attention now travels through creator and influencer coverage as much as through the front row. Mulberry reported earlier this year that group revenue rose 4 per cent to 125.5 million pounds in the 52 weeks to March 28, 2026, and narrowed its annual losses as its strategic turnaround took hold, as reported by FashionUnited. The brand also appointed two independent non-executive directors, Sara Dickinson and Kenny Wilson, effective September 9. More detail on the business case behind the Mulberry comeback is covered by FashionUnited.

For London, the calculation is straightforward. Fashion weeks in Milan and Paris follow within days, with debuts including Demna's first Gucci presentation on September 23 and Dario Vitale's first Versace event on September 26 still to come, according to Dazed. Getting the city's own heritage brands back on its runway before those blockbuster moments is how London holds its place in the season, and London Fashion Week 2026 will be judged on whether that homecoming pays off. Kane's appointment itself was first detailed by Business Live when it was announced in March, and all eyes will be on the September 20 show to see whether his vocabulary of material experimentation and off-kilter glamour translates onto a heritage leather goods house.