In the Gothic hall of Lincoln's Inn Chapel in central London, models walked under eight-century-old arches dressed in smoky tulle and leather harnesses. Outside, the city could barely remember the last time Alexander McQueen had shown a collection here — for 25 years the brand had staged its shows in Paris. A day earlier, just around the corner, Mulberry put its archive check pattern back on the runway for the first time since 2017. The two comebacks might sound like a nostalgic tale of British pride. The truth is more businesslike: both McQueen and Mulberry are coming home because their owners are looking for a way out of financial trouble, not because they suddenly missed London.

The shows took place on 20 and 21 September as part of London Fashion Week spring/summer 2027, which ran from 17 to 21 September with 47 runway shows, 23 presentations and more than 50 evening events. McQueen returned to the official schedule for the first time since 2001, while Mulberry came back after a six-year break from the catwalk.

Why they came home instead of staying in Paris

McQueen left London at the start of the millennium and had shown regularly in Paris ever since, following most big luxury brands drawn there by bigger buyer and press attention. The return now is no accident tied to a creative reshuffle alone. In June 2026 owner Kering hired former Prada boss Gianfranco D'Attis as McQueen's chief executive with one clear job: fix the brand's finances. The new management is cutting distribution, moving the flagship store on Bond Street, and pushing McQueen's image as a British authority on tailoring and formal wear, rather than just another luxury label on the Paris calendar. Creative director Sean McGirr's debut London show, titled "Angels in the Dark", mixed sharp tailoring with religious motifs and club-style looks — exactly the image the new owners want to sell.

Leather, axes and losses that shrank

At Mulberry the reason is even more directly tied to money. The brand, best known for its Bayswater bag, hired Christopher Kane as creative director of womenswear in March 2026, and he showed his first collection on 20 September. Kane — working with his sister and longtime collaborator Tammy Kane — turned the bag's own silhouette into leather clothing, wove in an axe motif as a nod to founder Roger Saul's roots in Somerset, and pulled the house's classic check out of the archive, including a 1990s shirt familiar to football fans. The pieces will reach shops and the brand's website in January 2027.

Behind the eye-catching show is a company only now climbing out of a serious crisis. In the financial year to March 2026, Mulberry's revenue rose 4% to £125.5m, while its pre-tax loss shrank sharply from £32.2m to £8.9m. Earnings before interest, tax and depreciation swung into positive territory at £800,000, from a loss of £16.8m a year earlier. UK sales jumped 17% and European sales rose 35%, but the brand is still losing ground in Asia-Pacific, where sales fell 28%. "A turnaround is never a straight line. It's a marathon, not a sprint," says chief executive Andrea Baldo — in other words, the London show is part of a plan to save the business, not just a sentimental homecoming.

Quiet luxury gives way to the runway

Something has genuinely changed in London fashion this year, though, and it has nothing to do with ownership or balance sheets. After seasons of muted colours and understated quality known as "quiet luxury", the London runway for spring/summer 2027 went the other way. McQueen showed suits covered in crystals, Burberry sent out dresses and coats with three-dimensional floral appliqués, and hot pink turned up everywhere, from tulle to leather gloves. Feathers, fringes and ruffles dominated at brands like Ahluwalia and Richard Quinn. Fashion, in short, got louder and more decorative — the opposite of the low-key minimalism that has ruled shop windows for the past few seasons.

Where the picture isn't so rosy

So far this looks like a clean win for London. But some details don't fit neatly into the story of a triumphant comeback. Christopher Kane himself is a telling example of just how shaky the industry is that he's now meant to revive: his own label filed for insolvency in June 2023 and survived only because he and his sister bought back its rights and name. Mulberry still isn't profitable — just a year ago its losses were more than three times bigger, and its Asian market keeps shrinking. And McQueen is coming home precisely because its new owners think the brand needs to shrink its global footprint, not grow it. In other words, the return of these two houses is less proof that British fashion has fought its way back and more a sign that it still has to.

What it means for shop shelves

For shoppers, the practical news is fairly simple. Mulberry's collection lands in stores and online in January 2027, and McQueen typically ships each new season about six months after the show — so by the middle of next year, the bolder, more decorated, more "British" looks should start showing up at the boutiques that stock these brands in the region. If the shift toward more ornament and colour holds through the next seasons, expect fewer muted, "quiet" pieces and more playful details on the shelves next year — at prices unlikely to drop, since both McQueen and Mulberry are currently chasing higher margins, not cheaper collections.

Source: theindustry.fashion