London Fashion Week Spring 2026 reaffirmed the city’s role as a stage for radical beauty storytelling. From the handwritten lips at Simone Rocha to the camp excess of Ashley Williams and the baroque rebellion of Chopova Lowena , three shows turned makeup into theatre: defiant, tender and funny.
Simone Rocha
Sweet dream, sweet heart set the tone at Simone Rocha Spring 2026. Thomas de Kluyver turned lips into diary pages—pressed flowers sealed in gloss, words handwritten across mouths—while using Dr. Barbara Sturm skincare and Byredo cosmetics to heighten the effect. Holli Smith shaped undone, adolescent textures in the hair, and Ama Quashie echoed the theme through delicate nails. Styled by Robbie Spencer and cast by Julia Lange, the beauty direction distilled Rocha’s message: femininity imagined as tension and harmony at once.
Ashley Williams
‘Systems of care and contentment’ set the tone for Ashley Williams Spring 2026, where the ordinary was heightened into ritual and performance. Hair by Kiyoko Odo staged wigs in pastel shades, granny rinses, candy-pink nests pinned with toy clips, and tiara-topped ponytails streaked with tinsel—turning everyday references into camp icons. Makeup by Ana Takahashi , sponsored by Starface, reinforced this tension with bare skin, scattered star decals and overdrawn lips—cute yet unsettling, as much homage as esperpento. Through plastic textures, fluorescent hues and synthetic shine, Williams translated care and labour into beauty codes, recasting them as acts of exaggeration, parody and collective fantasy.
Chopova Lowena
In ‘Cheerlore’, Chopova Lowena turned the cheerleader uniform into baroque rebellion, staging a cathartic spectacle of chants, mascots and embroidered folklore. Makeup by Lauren Reynolds translated the concept into sculptural lips and gem-studded eyes, while hair by Kiyoko Odo evoked school-spirit ponytails and tousled textures. The immersive world was shaped by creative direction from Charlotte Wales, production by Sophie M and AI PR, styling by Chopova Lowena and casting by Good Catch. Beauty became part of the uniform itself: ornamentation pushed to excess, vulnerability flipped into defiance, and the ritual of cheerleading transformed into immersive theatre.
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