The British Fashion Council not long ago announced that it would be scrapping London Fashion Week June—the rebranded successor to the buzzier London Collections: Men and London Fashion Week Men’s of the 2010s—in favor of supporting British brands through its Paris showrooms. It was a shock, but not a surprise. The schedule had been thinning, the exposure dwindling, and many designers no longer saw it as commercially viable. Then came a far juicier announcement: Martine Rose—who had long since turned her back on fashion week—would be mounting a showcase of her own. It would include her first catwalk in London in two years, and a weekend-long market featuring independent designers, artists, vintage vendors, record dealers, and photographers from across the capital.
“It’s a bit of a homecoming,” the designer told British Vogue’s Mahoro Seward in a preview. “When I think about what feeds the brand, feeds me, and what London has, above all other places, it’s this very alive cultural life. There’s a thriving independent designer network, but it goes beyond that. It’s the market traders and record vendors who contribute to the cultural fabric without much fanfare.” Of course, no Martine Rose presentation is without this hodgepodge cast of characters: A fact plain to see in the crowd milling around the disused job center that served as last night’s venue. There, prestige magazine editors, family members, friends, and Marylebone locals all formed part of the same strange, stylish democracy that forms wherever Rose shows up. “I’m happy to be home,” she added. ‘I’m always happy to be home.”
See the best street style moments from Martine Rose’s spring 2026 show, here.
