What to See

‘Reign of Fashion’

The artist Bradley Theodore is hosting a live painting show on Thursday at Clarendon Fine Art in Mayfair, where he will be painting an Hermès Birkin bag in his colorful style, followed by an exhibition running until Sept. 29 inspired by Marie Antoinette, who is also the subject of a major exhibition at the Victoria & Albert museum.

46 Dover Street, London W1S 4FF

‘Dirty Looks’

Fashion likes it dirty. Or at least according to the Barbican’s new exhibition “Dirty Looks,” it does. Exploring high fashion’s relationship with filth, designers under the spotlight include Hussein Chalayan, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Miguel Adrover, Helmut Lang, and Dilara Findikoglu. From Maison Margiela’s spring 2005 button-down shirt covered in lipstick kisses to pieces from Paolo Carzana’s fall 2025 collection, grime is explored as a political statement, rather than social faux pas.

Silk Street, Barbican, London, EC2Y 8DS

‘Blitz: The Club That Shaped the 80s’ 

The Design Museum is celebrating all things Blitz and glamour with its exhibition “Blitz: The Club That Shaped the 80s.” Exploring how London’s Blitz nightclub influenced ‘80s club culture, the show highlights fixtures at the club. Blitz Kids included Boy George, Spandau Ballet, Visage, fashion designer Stephen Linard, milliner Stephen Jones and “Game of Thrones” costume designer Michele Clapton.

224-238 Kensington High Street, London, W8 6AG

‘Marie Antoinette Style’

The big Marie Antoinette exhibition at the V&A showcases more than just the queen’s personal effects and impact on contemporary fashion. The V&A has commissioned original artwork, too, including a large-scale porcelain sculpture by the Brooklyn-based artist Beth Katleman. The work “Marie Antoinette’s Folly,” is meant to evoke the opulence of Versailles, and is inspired by pastoral toile de Jouy patterns and the frothy paintings of Fragonard.

Composed of more than 4,500 cast and handmade porcelain elements including toys, dolls and other knick-knacks, it’s sweet, with a sinister edge, and tells the life story of the controversial royal. It’s meant to be a parable of “decadence and decline,” according to Katleman, who is no stranger to fashion. She has also created large-scale, permanent installations for Dior flagship boutiques in London and Hong Kong. “Marie Antoinette Style,” which is sponsored by Manolo Blahnik, runs from Saturday until March 22, 2026.

Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, SW7 2RL

Where to Eat

Ce La Vi 

Fashion week coping mechanisms come in many forms, including getting high. If that’s a priority, head to Ce La Vi, a restaurant, bar, and lounge that specializes in rooftop dining. Offering a contemporary take on Asian cuisine, like miso sea bass with green Szechuan sauce, lobster noodles, and a range of dim sum, diners can eat, drink, and be merry while overlooking London.

17 & 18, 1 Paddington Square Floors, London, W2 1DL

Carbone at the The Chancery Rosewood

Want a taste of New York post-NYFW? Carbone, one of Manhattan’s hottest Italian-American eateries, has just opened its doors at the Chancery Rosewood. Housed in the former American Embassy, the restaurant brings a bit of old-school New York flair with cozy red velvet booths and paneled walls. Diners will be able to tuck into Carbone’s signature spicy rigatoni vodka, or try the risotto — a new menu item exclusive to London. 

30 Grosvenor Square, London, W1K

Alta

Kingly Court in Soho has welcomed its biggest, and arguably most interesting, restaurant yet with Alta, where the chef is an El Bulli veteran, and the menu is filled with Basque specialities made with local ingredients. Headed by chef Rob Roy Cameron, the food is inspired by the open fire cooking of northern Spain, made with local ingredients. The recipes include British vinegars and oils, heritage breed pork from Dorset, beef from the Lake District, and fish from the southwest coast.

The menu features a world of escabeche dishes; gooseberry sea bass crudo, and sardine empanada with piparra emulsion. The restaurant is also tapping into the Basque country’s cider culture, and is serving a selection of the alcoholic apple juice from U.K. producers; sherries, and a Spanish vermouth on tap. Alta is part of the new MAD Restaurants group, and follows the opening of Moi, a Japanese-inspired grill and omakase bar, on nearby Wardour Street in Soho, over the summer.

Kingly Court, Soho, W1B 5PW

Where to shop

Poetic License

Founded in 2007 by the Swedish, London-based stylist Ameli Lindgren, Nordic Poetry curates and sells archive luxury fashion, including statement pieces from Dior, Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano. Lindgren said she started the Shoreditch-based Nordic Poetry “because I saw a gap between mainstream vintage and true luxury retail. Vintage has often been associated with either affordable thrift finds or hyper-curated archival pieces reserved for fashion insiders. I wanted to create a space that sits in between. For me, it’s about making luxury vintage not just collectible, but also aspirational and accessible in a contemporary way.” Lindgren said that, of late, she’s seeing a “huge appetite for ‘stealth luxury’ — clean, minimal pieces from houses like Prada, Jil Sander, and Gucci/YSL by Tom Ford.” Galliano’s work for Dior is also hugely desirable among fashion insiders, especially his gowns and bias-cut dresses, she said.

Nordic Poetry, 141 Bethnal Green Road, Shoreditch, London, E2 7DG

Tartan: The Barbour Way

Barbour is embracing the tartan like never before with a pop-up on Carnaby Street. The space’s exterior has been covered in the brand’s signature tartan. The free ticketed event dives into Barbour’s 130-year history with live loom artists at work. The space will include a bar in collaboration with Belmond, imitating the interiors of the Royal Scotsman train.

5-7 Carnaby Street, London, W1F 9PB

Where to Treat Yourself

The Six in Mayfair 

The Six in Mayfair is a one-stop shop for all beauty needs, offering services for hair, skin and nails. Set in a Grade II Georgian townhouse, the building’s wood parquet floors and crown moldings are a beauty treatment in their own right. But if that’s not enough, pop by whether looking for a hair color refresh or just to unwind with a massage.

6 Queen Street, London, W1J 5PA

Yours Studio

Feel hot and look even hotter after a class at Yours, a fitness studio in Hackney Wick that offers heated sculpt and Pilates classes. The low-impact workouts strengthen and tone the body, while the infrared heat aims to help muscle endurance and activation. If working out isn’t on the agenda, it’s worth going just to escape London’s fall chill.

3 Prince Edward Road, London, E9 5LX