Pauline Dujancourt | London Fashion Week AW25
Words by Lauren Bulla, Photographs by Lily Maguire
The argument has persisted that in recent years London Fashion Week is seeing the last dregs of its former glory. Coming to a halt due to funding issues and larger luxury brands pulling out to show in cities like Paris and Milan alternatively. Dare I say, all you’d need is to step one foot into the bountiful worlds of BFC’s NewGen space to understand how undeniably wrong this sentiment is. Pauline Dujancourt alongside many other talented designers is establishing the sounding call that LFW is anything but flagging, it’s exactly the place we need to be.
Showcasing her debut runway collection for AW25, Pauline Dujancourt has made her mark on the fashion scene. Working in unexpected combinations of various materials and techniques, the garments come alive on the runway. Gauzy tendrils of gowns and blouses flounce as models stride past awe-stricken attendees, highlighting metallics, hand-knitted mohair and intricate crochet flowers which adorn the garments. There is a “deconstructed” sentiment to the collection, clearly outlined, yet simultaneously raw.
The collection has been inspired by, and is in honour of Dujancourt’s late grandmother, which showcases highlights of vibrant red - finding itself posited amongst neutral greys and misty pale blues. Based upon the Vriesea plant, a rare floral, which blooms only scarcely in a loud fiery hue, the collection speaks to knowingness and loss as we seek to find reconnection points from those loved, and since gone.
Attention to detail was this collection’s bread and butter. Each passing step unveiled some new mystery that would’ve otherwise been lost if we weren’t so close to the action. Cinching hemlines pulled wider forms closer to the body whilst ribbon-like cascading satins and feather tulles draped around the garments. There is a clear narrative through line between notions of delicateness and structure. These works emulate the juxtaposing ways our experiences shape us, having to be hard in the same moments that crack our very disposition.
Dujancourt is an innovator, unafraid to push textural frontiers and silhouettes. Each piece tells an individual story and simultaneously clicks together in irreproachable, powerful succession. The liminal space which circumvents loss is no longer a landing point for static. No, in this designer’s case - it's exactly the moment in which all creativity may expand outward, fluttering and boundless.
