Naomi Hart AW25

It was finally London Fashion Week again and I was on my way to my first show of the season. Although London has been named the smallest of all the Big Four Fashion Weeks, it still holds a special place in my heart as it will forever be my Ab Fab fashion dream. Walking into Naomi Hart’s AW25 presentation at I felt the air hum with a quiet intensity, the kind of energy that precedes a storm or a revelation. Titled "Unproductive Thinking", the collection was a masterclass in duality; weaving together the raw spontaneity of 1960s counterculture with the disciplined precision of haute craftsmanship. As someone who thrives in the liminal spaces between art and functionality, I was captivated by Hart’s ability to transform garments into visceral storytelling.

The show opened with a whisper, models in well tailored pale yellows and creams. The soundtrack, a haunting fusion of David Lynch’s Strange and "Unproductive Thinking" and Al Bowlly’s "Midnight, the Stars and You" lent the space a cinematic unease, as if we’d stepped into a Lynchian reverie. Hart’s painterly background was palpable, each piece felt like a canvas where emotion bled into form. The progression from light to dark mirrored a coming-of-age arc, with structured maroon coats and electric lavender serving as bold punctuation marks in this visual narrative.

Hart’s signature leatherwork stole the show. Marbled panels in merlot and noir seemed to breathe, their veined textures echoing the hidden brilliance of geodes, ordinary surfaces concealing galaxies within. The juxtaposition of sculpted tailoring and flared, almost anarchic silhouettes spoke to her motorbike-fueled ethos, freedom and control in constant dialogue. The standout? The cushioned rose taffeta coat, a piece that was worn with such a nonchalant attitude that it really exuded a "...and now what, and so what?" vibe.

The collection’s crescendo, a flurry of monochrome florals and space-age neoprene, felt like a nod to Courrèges, but with Hart’s distinct edge, surrealism grounded in wearable rebellion. "Unproductive Thinking" was more than a debut, it was a manifesto. Hart doesn’t just design clothes, she architects emotional landscapes. In a world obsessed with productivity, her celebration of idle creativity felt radical.