British Politics Meets Fashion at London Fashion Week 2024
Edeline Lee, a Canadian-British designer, unveiled her current spring-summer 2025 collection at London Fashion Week (LFW) on Monday, with a loyal customer in attendance: Victoria Starmer, wife of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The label with the fitting tagline “Clothing for the Future Lady”, has dressed some of Britain’s most powerful women, including Catherine, Princess of Wales and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.
Victoria Starmer, who normally keeps a low profile and has been acclaimed for her taste, wore the designer’s red belted dress at the Labour Party Conference last year, one of her few political appearances.The new collection included variations on the same outfit: belted jacquard dresses with flutter sleeves in cornflower, yellow, coral pink, and emerald green.
At the brand’s first-ever LFW catwalk show, Lee presented tailored midi and maxi dresses, flowing pantsuits and sequinned gowns intended to make the wearer feel “polished, ready and powerful”.
However, she was unable to completely withdraw from politics.
The Times newspaper accused Keir Starmer of breaking parliamentary rules by neglecting to declare that a Labour party donor had spent more than £5,000 ($6,600) on luxury clothes for his wife.
The prime minister said on Monday that “rules are being followed” when it was disclosed that Labour’s Waheed Alli gifted Keir Starmer nearly £20,000 in garments, as he had declared.
AFP
