Fashion District Festival 2025

SøEdited Team
SøBeauty Director: Astrid Kearney
SøEditor-in-Chief: Chris Saint Sims 
​SøFashion Director: Savannah Barthorpe​​​​​​

The heartbeat of Fashion District Festival 2025 pulsed loudest in Spitalfields, where the headline catwalk show took centre stage — a radiant convergence of sustainability, innovation, and radical beauty. From concept to curtain call, the show captured the essence of the festival’s mission: to celebrate circular, regenerative, and inclusive creativity in action.

This year’s catwalk was more than a runway — it was a revelation. A culmination of intention, community, and craft. It anchored a week of energising workshops, and insightful industry panels such as the enigmatic Alex Box with V -METICS. Opening the festival was the Live Performance Showcase, a mesmerising fusion of Designers such as Sabirah, Maximilian Raynor, KittyJoseph, Anciela and Noki. Movement, and technology blurred the boundaries between digital and physical. It lit the spark, but the catwalk carried the flame.

​Behind the scenes, the hair, makeup direction and vision was to amplify individuality, honour texture, and let skin breathe and beam in its natural glory.Backstage, skin using Weleda was treated as something sacred by the team — glowing, dimensional, real. Hairusing Wella was approached not as a trend to tame but a truth to honour — from coiled crowns to pin-straight sheens, structured braids to soft volume. Each look worked with the model’s features, never against them.

​
​The result was a runway shimmering with authenticity. Real skin. Real texture. Real presence. It wasn’t just about showcasing garments — it was about telling stories, showing futures, and reminding the industry that beauty and responsibility are not at odds, but inextricably linked.

Article/backstage shots Astrid Kearney
Catwalk Photography: @oluogunshakin
Creative Director /Stylist: @kim_howells.  
Jewellery @thehirstcollection
Makeup/Hair Designer: @astridkearneymakeup using @weleda @wellahairuki
Hair Lead: @doris_designs
Afro Hair Specialist: (catwalk) @bushkuts