Running for just four days, and with its influencer coverage dwarfed by New York and Paris, LFW needs British soft power and its prized creatives to bring some buzz

Beneath the glitter and sequins and extra-long false eyelashes, the bald truth at London fashion week is of an industry overshadowed by the luxury might of Europe and the US. Many designers have closed their doors, or cannot afford to splash out on a show. At just four days long, London fashion week has shrunk to half the duration of the Paris shows.

Cash is in short supply, but ambition and creativity are not. At SS Daley, the Harry Styles-backed brand whose trench coats are now sold at John Lewis, the show opened with the sound of Big Ben, included “Stay Faithfull to Marianne” sweaters in tribute to the late British style icon, and closed with a general clamour for selfies with front row guest of honour, the Amandaland actor Lucy Punch. Actor Debi Mazar took the stage for jewellery brand Completedworks, playing a television shopping channel hostess on the verge of a nervous breakdown, hawking the “mermaid realness” of pearl earrings while sipping a martini. At the Tate Modern, Florence Pugh opened Harris Reed’s show with a monologue in praise of “the art of dressing up”.