For many young designers in London, Fashion East is both a rite of passage and a stamp of approval. The design incubator, founded by Lulu Kennedy in 2000 and celebrating its 25th anniversary this February, remains a rare vestige of the old London fashion scene. As independent brands become increasingly difficult to sustain in today’s fashion climate, Kennedy’s commitment to nurturing emerging talent remains unmatched. Simone Rocha, Jonathan Anderson, Craig Green, Maximilian Davis, and Martine Rose have all passed through its proverbial halls.
Each season also serves as temp check on what the city’s most creative crowd is wearing—and what we’ll all want to wear next. The spring/summer 2026 show brought subtle deconstructions (a natural instinct for any Central Saint Martins graduate), spunky styling, and a sporty touch of futurism.
Meet the three designers from this season’s Fashion East class.
Nuba
Back for its sophomore collection with the incubator, Nuba returned with a lineup entirely true to its core. Designer Cameron Williams draws from both his African heritage and his London surroundings—a duality that often takes shape in unconventionally draped materials, rendered with a distinctly sleek and modern edge. That’s exactly what Williams and collaborator Labembika delivered on Friday, this time with a sheerer, more translucent twist than their previous outing.
Mayhew
Louis Mayhew launched his label after graduating from the London College of Fashion’s MA program in womenswear design. Since then, the brand has carved out a space among the London designers keeping kookiness alive. (Think: the quirky boyhood of early Jonathan Anderson or Miu Miu’s current styling tricks.) The latest collection was just as kaleidoscopic: fur bags worn as tops, trinkets stitched onto polo shirts, and a curious case for letting your shirt hem peek out from beneath trouser-like micro shorts.
Jacek Gleba
Jacek Gleba, a 2025 Central Saint Martins graduate, is set on building a futuristic world rooted in modern art. This time around, that vision partially stems from a 1912 drawing of Nijinsky, hence the undeniably sporty aesthetic shaped by lightweight jersey, mismatched layering, and tight-fitting silhouettes. You can trace the influence of ballet warmup attire throughout, reimagined as a wardrobe for an artistic and athletic future.
Alexandra Hildreth is the Fashion News Editor at ELLE. She is fascinated by style trends, industry news, shake-ups, and The Real Housewives. Previously, she attended the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Following graduation, she moved back to New York City and worked as a freelance journalist and producer.
