Going to London Fashion Week has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember, and I finally ticked it off the list last weekend. I've really been into fashion and its industry as of late, particularly streetwear, and going to an event like London Fashion Week Festival (LFWF) felt like the perfect way to spend a Friday afternoon. If you're like me and leaving the house is a rare occasion for you so you've never even heard of LFWF–it's a four-day festival, consisting of catwalks, designer shopping and fashion industry talks/interviews.

I'll be honest, I was extremely anxious about attending because I thought I'd feel and seem so out of place. I'm not a designer kind of girl, mostly because I don't have the money lying around to spend on luxury items but also because it's just never really appealed to me. Maybe if I had the money to spend, but with my current financial situation, it's just not ideal. But, I didn't really go to the event with the intention of buying anything as it was my first time; I really just wanted to see what it's like and be able to say that I've experienced it. So, if any of you are thinking of going–you don't need tons of money, you honestly just need a passion for the industry, maybe someone like-minded to go with and you're sorted.

I was considering going to the event on my own at first, as I purchased the tickets about a week prior to the event so it was pretty last minute. But, thankfully, my cousin (Anisa) was free to go on Friday so I automatically jumped at the opportunity. I purchased 2 Festival Entry tickets, both coming to a total of £37.15 (with booking and transaction fees) which I thought was a pretty decent price for an event like this. I think I managed to get like 20% off because I found a discount code online, so I'd recommend checking for any discount codes if you're ever thinking of attending! When purchasing the tickets, I was given the choice of a time slot from 11:00 am-4:30 pm or 2:30-8 pm and of course I chose the latter because I'm clearly not and will never be a morning person. I was also given the option to add on extras, such as catwalks and talks but as it was only my first time, I figured I'd just see what it's like at first then purchase add-ons next time (if I like it enough to go again... spoiler: I'll be going again next season).

This was both mine and Anisa's first experience of LFWF so neither of us knew what to expect. I read up on the event and I gathered that it was going to be an event like Crepe City in which you'd be able to take a look around different stalls with different brands on show and purchase items at your own will. It pretty much turned out to be what I had expected: a basement full of hundreds of brands selling designer, high-end items and tons of people stepping on my toes without apologising for it. I forgive you, by the way.

The event was honestly better than I thought it would be, as a part of me thought that my anxieties prior to the event would ruin my experience of it. But, thankfully, I loved it! A major perk was that literally as soon as we walked into the event, there were some ladies from ELLE Magazine, handing out 30% discount cards for River Island. I don't even shop in River Island that often, but you know your girl snatched that up! When life hands you lemons and all that jazz. Or in this case, discount codes.

The general atmosphere of the event was just so cool to me. Don't get me wrong, it was hectic as hell because of the number of people at the event, but the vibes were so great. All the people I spoke to were lovely and extremely helpful. I honestly thought that I'd hate it and that people were going to come across as insanely snobby, but I'm glad I didn't feel this way during the event because it probably would have resulted in me leaving. Oh, and they also had fridges located in different rooms of the event, packed with these cute mini Evian water bottles and they were FREE?! I know what you're thinking... Boujee. I'm an appreciator of the little things in life.

I tried to take photos of the names of the brands on display but there were too many and I gave up at a point. But, there were a lot of brands that I hadn't heard of before which was pretty cool. Jamie Wei Huang had some insane pieces on display. Perhaps a little out of my price range, but still cool to look at and admire from a distance. However, there were brands like Miu Miu and Paul's Boutique that I was already familiar with so that made me feel a little less amateurish. 

As I passed this stall, all I heard was "Bouncy Balls" coming from a lady with a huge smile so I was instantly curious. I genuinely thought they were just bouncy balls at first. But, this was the brand Bounce who sell healthy energy balls and I was down to try some out. Also, for the sake of LFWF, they created this piece made entirely out of the bouncy ball snacks that they offer. They had bowls full of different flavours which were free to take and try, and "coconut macadamia" was by far my favourite. But, can we just appreciate the art they created with their products? I think it was inspired by Mexican culture. I was in awe... I still am.

I'd also just like to add another point to the list of perks of LFWF: the items that they sell are all at a discounted price. There were Gucci bags that retailed at roughly £1k and were discounted by a few hundred quid, which I think is so sick. I bought a Kenzo t-shirt which retails at £80, but I bought it for £59.99. So, the event is basically like an exclusive sale event for those who attended.

The neon room was probably my favourite of the entire event. The room was dark, so my photos don't seem to do it any justice. The walls were plastered with words and phrases produced by the mass of people who attended the event. It must have started off with the question: "Which topics are most relevant to LFWF this season?" or something along those lines and the responses that stood out to me were "Sustainability" and "Creativity". I didn't get the chance to write anything on the walls as the pens they provided were blunt by the time I got there, but I thought the concept of this was really cool! Definitely a nice touch to the event.

The aesthetics of most of the stalls were just so me, I literally went around the event telling stall-holders and brand-owners that I love their vibe and asking if I could take photos of their shit. Free promo for them so nobody said no, but I constantly got "just make sure you follow and tag us on Instagram and we'll repost and tag you back" which got pretty annoying after the first 3 times lol. But, I can appreciate the hustle. The brand Chupi had some minimalistic tumblr-girl bohemian pieces of jewellery which I loved, but I have enough jewellery to last me a lifetime so I didn't purchase anything. But, they did give me these cute little notebooks so yay for more free stuff!

We eventually passed by the House of Lady Muck (HOLM) stall, where they were offering manicures and nail art. Anisa decided to get her nails done and I think they usually charge £28 but said they'd give her a discount if she gave them a follow on Instagram. I hadn't really heard of HOLM until the event, but they said that they have just opened up a nail studio in the basement of Topshop in Oxford Circus which I think is amazing. 

I think Footlocker's stall-type thing (which was basically an entire room) was my favourite of the whole event. Although I didn't purchase anything, they had tons of trainers/shoes on display which were designed specifically for the LFWF. So, they were basically limited edition shoes that you wouldn't be able to purchase outside of the event. I completely forgot to take photos of the shoes on display, but they had some Air Force 1s that looked really good. The problem was that I probably wouldn't rock trainers that say "London" on the side, but I thought the idea was great. And with each purchase of a pair of trainers, you were able to customise your kicks, free of charge. Also, just realised that Footlocker had Urban Outfitters vibes going on too, which is probably why this stall appealed most to me. 

The event also had a stall where you could get piercings and if I didn’t already have enough, I would’ve gotten one. The neon lights and cacti-like plants made me feel like I was in Urban Outfitters so I guess I pretty much felt at home (I'm so basic).

Although our timeslot was until 8 pm, we left the venue at around 5 because we felt that we had experienced everything we felt we needed to but mostly because we were insanely hungry. So, Anisa and I left the venue and went to Super Star BBQ in Tottenham Court Road, which wasn't too far from where we were. Korean food is my new favourite food.

I feel like every time I take a break from blogging or I don't blog as often, I feel the need to apologise for it. To anyone who actually reads my blog, I'm sorry I struggle to be consistent lmao. I'm genuinely so busy all the time with work and whatever, so I haven't been getting a lot of 'me time'. But, will hopefully try and blog whenever I find the time because it really is therapeutic for me; it gives me something to care about and something to focus on and I love it.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this post. I really enjoyed the event (in case you couldn't tell from the number of times that I said "it was so cool!") and I would 100% go to the next one! You should, too!

Thanks for reading. Keep scrolling for more photos!

Love,

Jakira x

More photos from the London Fashion Week Festival (LFWF) ‘18. Photos by JAKIRA.