From Molly Goddard and Mowalola to the British-Nigerian grime artist Skepta’s brand Mains, sports were highly visible throughout runway shows in London – think boxing shoes offered as flats with an added heel, racing-inspired leather jackets, and footwear from the German sports brand Puma.

The mixture of high and low fashion has become the norm rather than the exception this year. Nevertheless, the runway shows in London also gave us a healthy dose of femininity through soft romantic dresses made of lace, knits and crochet.

This is very much a year of opposites attract.

Below are five trends spotted at the womenswear shows in London earlier this month.

1. Florals

Though not groundbreaking per se, florals and flowery motifs were one of the definitive trends seen in the spring/summer 2024 season shows in London and were present across the board.

Offering a sexier look, David Koma’s provoking rose-embellished, black skin-tight dress was worn with green-and-black stretch mesh fabric leggings.

2. Bold colours

In stark contrast to the menswear collections, which were dominated by black clothes and accessories, London’s womenswear runways championed bold colours.

Collections were filled with eye-catching palettes: fitted tops, skirts and dresses were painted with burnt sienna, zingy lime and lemon, and various pastel hues.

Brands such as Matty Bovan, Ahluwalia and Emilia Wickstead presented bold, colourful looks that could easily be worn across the full spectrum of spring and summer months.

Matty Bovan’s dresses with whorled and twisted fabric contained a universe of colour and were finished off with equally luminous pumps; while Ahluwalia’s runway saw an aquamarine, diamond-and-stripe-patterned column dress with leaf green knee-high boots.

3. Fringe appeal

Popularised by the original Great Gatsby film in 1949 and Singin’ In the Rain in 1952, lightweight full-length fringe dresses took over mid-century Hollywood with a bang.

Tolu Coker presented an elegant royal blue two-piece set with fringed mules made by New York-based shoe designer Kendall Miles.

“The inspiration for this was to look at the way in which our ancestral culture has been preserved today,” said British-Nigerian designer Coker when asked about the fringed mules.

“If you look at some of the ritualistic practices you will see things such as these fringes and textures in rituals, and I wanted to see the way we made it our own. It’s the idea of autonomy.”

4. Sports and fashion

One of the strongest trends emerging this year has revolved around bridging the gap between sports and fashion. The spring/summer 2024 shows in London were no different, across runway and street style.

Sporting elements were highly visible throughout, from British-Nigerian designer Mowalola and grime artist Skepta’s Mains brand to the Romanian-born shoe innovator Ancuta Sarca’s namesake label.

Think boxing shoes with an added heel, kitten heels with added floral detailing made of football-boot material, and racing-inspired leather jackets.

London designer Molly Goddard’s runway show saw football jerseys paired with long tulle skirts with ballerinas and shin-high black boxing boots, while in the fashion week crowd, Hypebeast editor Tora Northman was seen wearing a football shirt and shorts with white, Japanese-inspired tabi boots by Maison Margiela.

5. Sheer romanticism

From the punk days of the 1970s to the rave aesthetic of the 1990s, the Brits have always embraced a rebellious streak. Think of the 1980s collections from Dame Vivienne Westwood and the popularity of Australian performance artist and London-based New Romantic icon Leigh Bowery, both of whom captured the prevalent cultural shift in the British capital at the time.

Similarly, the spring/summer 2024 womenswear runway shows engaged in a dialogue about what femininity is. This was especially true when it came to young designers such as Susan Fang, Supriya Lele and KNWLS, who honed in on romance for next year’s warmer months.

Fang’s collection saw a delicate crochet top paired with a navy midi ruffle skirt and a strap sandal; a black, sheer see-through dress with black hot pants and knee-high boots from Supriya Lele looked just the thing for a balmy summer night; while KNWLS’ asymmetrical, sheer black-and-orange dress and pink knee-high boots were finished off with black headscarf.