Image: Aleksandra Volkova
What’s it like to be a Fashion Marketing and Journalism student attending a live show at London Fashion Week? Simran Gill finds out…
In a converted warehouse near Liverpool Street, London Fashion Week delivered an off-schedule highlight: the UA in UK Fashion Show, presented by the Volkova Agency. Six emerging designers showed their work. The room buzzed with flashguns, chatter, and the kind of energy that makes LFW famous.
The show was incredible. From the first look, it was clear this was not safe or commercial. Deconstructed tailoring in light washed denim. Romantic sheer layers that seemed to float. Each of the six designers had a distinct look, and each mini collection held together with surprising coherence. The overall mood was joyful and eclectic.
Video by Simran Gill
After the final walk, the networking party began. That is where I met Henri Jara, 23, Deputy Editor of Mint magazine, and Ozzy Nada, 29, a senior photographer. Both were introduced through a photographer friend. Ozzy was light hearted and joking, already half dancing. He pulled me over to meet Henri.
Henri was kind and curious. When I mentioned that people say fashion journalism is too hard to break into, she told me about her first fashion project at 16. Now she works in fashion full time. “If you love it, ignore the noise,” she said. She watches shows with a critical, attentive lens. She asks whether a collection is coherent, not just beautiful.
Ozzy sees things differently. He spent the show darting between angles, camera glued to his eye. “The fact I get to see it all upfront, from every angle, that is the real privilege,” he said. But he admitted: “I spend so much time ensuring the pictures are good that I sometimes feel I can’t live in the moment.”
Novitska. Image by Simran Gill
For Henri, editorial coverage goes to collections with a clear vision. “Coherence,” she said simply. “A designer can be wild, but if every piece serves the same story, that is what we put in print.” Ozzy’s answer was more direct: “All of them. I capture all the beauty.”
Henri has attended a few shows already and looks forward to more. Ozzy described his LFW as great, and he is headed to Milan Fashion Week next. Both agreed that their professions change how they watch a show. Henri is more critical now. Ozzy is more focused on the image than the moment.
I left with a notebook full of quotes, a head full of striking silhouettes, and something else. A 23-year-old deputy editor took me seriously and told me to keep going. In an industry that often confuses noise with substance, that small kindness mattered most.
Backstage at the show. Image by Simran Gill
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