Pop. Conner Ives SS26

The Conner Ives show was a standout highlight of London Fashion Week. The designer – who first took the world by storm with his “Protect the Dolls” fundraiser T-shirts (with all proceeds donated to Trans Lifeline, raising $600,000 for the charity to date) – brought the dolls back to the runway this season. Though he has long cast a higher proportion of trans models than most, this time the vast majority of the lineup was trans or gender nonconforming. His tribe of high-voltage beauties celebrated the magic and power of pop.

“Pop music will never be lowbrow,” Ives declared. With his idols in mind – Kylie Minogue, Lady Gaga, and contemporary pop princess Addison Rae – the designer delivered ultra-feminine, party-ready dresses in acidic tones. A fabulous bias-cut gown in shocking pink silk crepe, topped with a brown chiffon overlay, was styled with faded feathers plucked from an early 20th-century burlesque fan and arranged around the model’s neck like the hackles of an elegant bird. Just fabulous. An especially brilliant stroke of design brilliance appeared in one of the finale looks: a gown covered in leather sequins, painstakingly laser-cut from discarded jackets and then hand-embroidered onto silk chiffon over six weeks. Drama! The collection also included cool, sporty separates for day.

After so much mildness and plainness on the spring runways, Conner Ives’s collection arrived as a much-needed antidote – full of glamour, bravado, and charisma.