Even the most Marie Kondo-faithful among us are avid collectors. This may not be an affliction of material goods or the ‘what was I thinking’ accoutrements that seem to be acquired and gather over the course of our lives, but rather an assembly of memories and experiences that we can hoard and hold onto ad infinitum.


Mary Katrantzou SS19.

This ‘collection of collections’ is what Mary Katrantzou dedicated her emotional and triumphant 10 year anniversary show to last night at Camden’s Roundhouse. In the hallowed space that has played host to Patti Smith, George Michael and Bob Dylan concerts and sprawling tragedies from the Royal Shakespeare Company, Katrantzou staged her very own (and very personal) epic, where models themselves transmogrified into collectibles – clad in everything from postage stamp-adorned gowns to entomological headdresses and embroidery, to a finale of blown-glass silhouettes shrouded in hand-painted Swarovski crystal mesh in a reference to ornate perfume bottles. It felt different for Mary, and yet, equally, somehow incredibly familiar. 


Mary Katrantzou SS19.

On the same day that Mary Katrantzou staged her anniversary show to celebrate a decade in design, Alexa Chung made her debut foray into the official London Fashion Week schedule, with a nostalgic sepia-tinged series of hit after sartorial hit. Transporting her audience to a First Class lounge for the fashionable 1970s Jet Set, her own runway echoed Katrantzou’s fascination with the intrinsic link between collectors and their collections. Alexa’s woman has travelled far and wide, but along the way she has garnered postcards and aesthetic references from each of her destinations – from Inverness to Tokyo, by way of Palma, Bristol and Athens. 


Alexa Chung SS19.


Molly Goddard SS19.

She may have even encountered Molly Goddard’s own wander-luster, who haunts the hazy street markets of balmy European cities and accumulates unique wardrobe gems as she goes. While Goddard’s signature tulle and ruffles (for which 10 metres of fabric had been ruched into submission) were in plentiful and spectacular supply, vibrant florid prints and heavier tailoring felt like a new direction for Molly, and one that made us all sit up a little straighter in our seats. 


Molly Goddard SS19.

Sit tight for more incoming from day two; in the meantime, follow our Instagram here for live updates from the Front Row.