Our fashion editor’s top Victoria Leeds summer trends from THAT AllSaints ruffle dress to Reiss satin cape dress

Staged earlier this month in the Victoria Quarter and hosted by Style Arcades podcast presenter Michelle Eagleton, there were standout designs from brands including John Lewis, AllSaints, & Other Stories. Reiss, Sweaty Betty, Seasalt, Phase Eight, Hobbs, GANT, Mint Velvet, Whistles, Pour Moi, Bravissimo, Fred Perry and more.

The show was divided into scenes, which included Grandstand Glamour, New Neutrals, Standout Stripes, Ocean Luxe and After Hours. Laura Fawcett, personal shopper and colour analysis stylist, worked with the brands to create the looks. Here is her guide to some of the trends from the VLFW runway:

New Neutrals: “This is based around the mocha trend, so there's a lot of browns and khakis, olives,” says Laura. “When you think of neutrals, often we all think of beiges and creams, but we focused this scene around mocha, which is a key trend for 2025, along with shades of brown and khaki.”

For those who struggle to find neutral tones to suit them, it could be worth finding out which colour season you belong to.

“It's based around the combination of your skin, your hair and your eyes,” says Laura. “Summers are light and cool and soft in their complexion, so they need colours that have that lightness to them, with a blue undertone , and then winters have more of a high contrast look about them, so they're cool and they suit stronger, deeper and vibrant colours, also with a blue undertone.

“If you were a spring, you suit warm colours that have a yellow undertone, but they're lighter and clear, and then if you're an autumn, you suit rich, earthy warm colours. For a winter, your best kind of brown is going to be a bitter chocolate. For a summer, you're going to be great in the mocha. Autumns look amazing in a chocolate brown. And then a spring is going to look fantastic in caramel and camel.”

A Jigsaw jeans and jacket co-ord in a tobacco shade was worn with a silk neck scarf. “That could be a way to do double denim in a neutral way,” says Laura. “With the co-ords, you've got separate options to wear in different ways.”

Standout Stripes: “Stripes are a really big trend this season and have taken over from classic summer florals. We wanted to show that you can print clash by combining different stripes within the same outfit.

“I always say to my clients, if you would like your frame to be elongated then vertical stripes are brilliant. If you've got a long torso and shorter legs, vertical stripe trousers are amazing because they elongate and create balance between your top and bottom half.

"If you happen to feel self-conscious about your upper half, I would advise going for a vertical stripe on your top half rather than a horizontal. If you are wearing a horizontal striped top, layering a waistcoat or shirt over the top will create a column effect and draw the eyes up and down rather than across. At the end of the day though, it’s all about wearing what makes you feel good and I believe there are no set rules in fashion, it’s about self expression, so wear what you love.

A three-piece womenswear navy and white suit from & Other Stories was teamed with white trainers and a pink tote bag. “That was one of my favourites,” says Laura. “The three-piece suit for some people might feel a bit too much to wear all together, but it really works, especially popped with the pink accessories.

“For the Whistles look, we did a stripy shirt with stripy jeans, just to be a little bit unexpected. John Lewis had a French Connection stripy dress with a clashing stripy bag.”

Timeless Motion: “We thought, let's do something a bit preppy, a bit sporty, to ensure that Sweaty Betty, Fred Perry had the opportunity to show their brands.

Ocean Luxe: “We had Bravissimo and Pour Moi, so we had to have some swimwear,” says Laura. “We went for subtle print clashes with men, so we styled lemon-printed swim shorts with a yellow striped T-shirt.”

Grandstand Glamour: This was inspired by Hobbs and Phase Eight, says Laura, but men’s summer tailoring turned heads too, with pastel suiting in light fabrics, including a purple linen suit from John Lewis’s own collection.

After Hours: AllSaints was a firm catwalk favourite, especially its Sienna Ruffled Maxi Dress teamed with a black beaded chain bag. “That was amazing," says Laura. “Feminine, but toughened up in that AllSaints way.”

Then there was The Fae Satin Cape Maxi Dress in green from Reiss. “Everybody's talking about that. It's stunning, an absolute showstopper.”

A Phase Eight yellow pleated satin dress, teamed with a pink bag, also won audience approval, as while other highlights on the runway included a polka-dot print midi dress from Phase Eight that looked ever-so Pretty Woman, and a polka dot mini dress from & Other Stories, teamed with a bold red bag. “Polka dots are back as one of the key prints for this year, but for me they are timeless,” Laura says.

The variety of brands at Victoria Leeds meant that Laura was able to select something for all tastes, budgets and styles. “Especially in John Lewis, which offers ahigh street price points along with higher end as well,” she says.

“We chose colour and print trends such as butter yellow, mocha, polka dots and stripes, because using print and colour as a nod to a trend is a much smarter way to shop and these pieces won't go out of date in the same way as really on-trend and gimmicky looks.”

“It’s a modern way of thinking about fashion, transcending the trends, as we all think more about sustainability and making our clothes last longer.”

victorialeeds.co.uk and laurafawcett.co.uk