The Eclectic Individuality of London Fashion

Fashion outside of the United States is something that has always been something that intrigued me. I got the opportunity to travel from a young age, and the style of those in countries different to mine was always so inspiring and fascinating to me, far before I had even considered pursuing it as a career. As we all know, fast fashion has quickly made its entrance into the fashion world quite rapidly over the past couple decades, and only now are people starting to become more aware of the harmful implications it can and already has had on our environment. Speaking for myself as well, I know that I was not correctly informed on the effects of fast fashion until more recently, especially once I started coming to FIT. However, something that has characterized fashion in countries in Europe is their focus on maintaining sustainability and high quality pieces throughout the majority of their areas. While I obviously cannot speak for everyone, from my own experience of getting to travel to these places such as London, their priority seemed to have more capsule pieces, made up of high quality neutral pieces, sourced from either designer brands, second-hand vintage stores, or small businesses. In America, we have adopted more of a normality towards extremely casual clothing in public, but that seems to not be so much of the case in European places; and while there are certainly no rules in fashion, it is quite interesting to see the cultural differences and its impact on its fashion. Additionally, while there is a more classic elegance to the people of London’s fashion, this does not mean they do not pull from modern trends or eclectic accessorizing. Some of the most standout figures to me of London fashion are those who can pair a classic, more simplistic piece with maximalist pieces, either in the form of a garment or an accessory. Street style certainly plays a large role in the overall look of London fashion, and even throughout that, the inspiration that comes from the runway and the more comprehensive world of designer fashion is so beautiful and individualistic to the person.

One influencer that comes to mind when thinking of eclectic London street style is fashion influencer, Olivia Hirst. Based in London, she has grown an audience on various social media platforms, collecting over 200k followers on TikTok and almost 300k followers on Instagram. She is a perfect example of using pieces from different levels of business, whether it be designer or small business, pairing garments together to create exciting and innovative looks. Below are a couple examples of her fashion, pulled and linked from her Instagram if you want to check her out. Also, if you want to shop her looks, you can head over to that page on my blog;)

@_olhirst_ on Instagram. Click above for post.

@_olhirst_ on Instagram. Click above for post.

@_olhirst_ on Instagram. Click above for post.