London’s Sicilian Avenue offers a highly distinctive Italian flavour right in the heart of Bloomsbury, with the pedestrianised diagonal offering a unique Sicilian-inspired look which has featured in films such as Wonder Woman and Apple TV’s hard-hitting spy drama Slow Horses. The Grade II listed street, designed by architect Robert Worley in 1906 harks back an Italy that probably only existed in the minds of Edwardian gentlemen - but reflects a wider Italian-inspired vibe across the capital every fashion week.
Sicilian Avenue and London Fashion Week
Every London Fashion Week brings new overlaps between London and Italian and Sicilian looks. This year sees Alessandra Rich on the official designer roster, an London-based designer who has become synonymous with Italian glamour and 'dolce vita' party wear.
This year also sees Fiorucci showing in London.
The dark romanticism of many collections directly reflects Sicilian mourning traditions (as popularised by Sicilian-born designer Domenico Dolce). As always, Sicilian Avenue sits near the heart of Fashion Week’s action (taking place from Thursday 17th to Monday 21st September in 2026), near iconic venues such as Victoria House, Somerset House and Freemason's Hall. With the Avenue newly refurbished and seeing its first cafes open, expect influencers and street style photography along the famous diagonal this Fashion Week.
From London Fashion Week to Milan
London Fashion Week - linked to institutions like Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art - has historically been more about artistic statement and subversion, with designers creating garments that are fashion, part provocation. Milan Fashion Week, by contrast, is dominated by multi-million-pound heritage houses, family dynasties and the world's most sophisticated textile mills. While London Fashion Week has historically been where disruptors like Vivienne Westwood cut their teeth, this year could well be different - with a return to clothes people actually buy, according to fashion insiders.
Not only will we see the return of Marks & Spencer to the catwalk, Mario Arena, the creative director of Joseph said this year, “London fashion has leant too much into being theatrical. Drama is great, but style is a huge piece of why we buy fashion. Buyers will say they come to London for innovation, and they go to Italy and France for style. But London used to be a style capital, and it should be again.”