Ahluwalia Spring/Summer 2027 / SS27 at London Fashion Week, A reflection on the power of intentionally choosing lightness, and the people who make that choice possible.

Ahluwalia presents its SS27 / Spring/Summer 2027 collection, ‘Revel’, at Rosewood London during London Fashion Week. This season, Creative Director Priya Ahluwalia looks at joy as a form of resistance, proposing optimism and togetherness as the most enduring answers in an uncertain age. The season began in a sterner register, with early research dwelling on resistance movements until a turning point arrived through photographs of former Black Panther members at home, off duty and unguarded. People who resist are also people who rest, and from that came the idea of self care as a collective barrier. As small gestures of kindness that bind a community and keep it hopeful. Ahluwalia came to feel that the moment called for levity, and the collection softened in kind.

Celebration also functions under the same framework. Ahluwalia looked to FESTAC ‘77, the pan-African festival that flooded Lagos with music and art, to prove that gathering itself is a radical act. As such, music pulses through the season, from the incendiary poly-rhythms of Fela Kuti to the energy of Mumbai’s underground rap scene, and reflects both the vibrancy and revolutionary undertones of the looks.

Details of Ahluwalia SS27 / Spring/Summer 2027, Draping, long an Ahluwalia signature, changes direction for SS27. Where previous fabric pulled inward and cinched close to the body, ‘Revel’ draws outward. A series of pieces take their lines from the works of Rob Emke and Sinni Villi, using volume as a way of claiming space, seen in the form of a low-back puffball top and dress silhouettes. Revolutionary strength and human softness are cut from the same cloth. Water-resistant fabrics and heavy contrast topstitching form a protective barrier of their own while embossed and debossed surfaces and etched textures hold the memory of posters and archival documents. Mohair and jacquard knits see motifs lifted from a tiled staircase in an off-duty photograph, echoing moments of domestic peace. Layers of organza drift through both menswear and womenswear, a reminder of the delicacy of the human condition.

Outerwear, tailoring, denim and knitwear remain the foundation. Leather jackets look to hardware and construction from the jackets of the 1970s while fringing returns in fresh forms. Seen cut into a new men’s tuxedo top and knitted directly into mini dresses, its rippling fall recalling the undulating strata of Lee Bontecou’s lithographs, grounded in the freedom of movement and expression. Branding is reserved: with tonal embroidered badges, illegible from a distance and revealed only in proximity. For SS27, the palette is instinctive, distilled from combinations drawn from the Pan-African palette of Kerry James Marshall and the Nigerian modernists; Ben Enwonwu to Tayo Adenaike. Creams and browns lay down a warm, earthen ground, lifted by rejuvenating flashes of reds, blues, and greens.

Ahluwalia SS27 / Spring/Summer 2027 collaboration such as The Ahluwalia x PUMA partnership continues with an extension of their RTW offering: a reworked T7 track jacket, knitted football tops with tonal jacquard trims, and long knitted dresses with an engineered fringed construction. Two new trainers debut, an exclusive Ahluwalia Speedcat in primary colourways, and debut silhouette in black and black with silver. Ahluwalia and poppi unveil a limited-edition bag charm collection inspired by poppi’s colour palette and spirit. The charms are a shared celebration of colour Hand-strung with glass and precious stone beads, inspired by iconic poppi flavours and seen strung from belts as part of the runway looks. Within the show space, a bespoke mural created in collaboration with Calico Wallpaper ,“Estuary”, is inspired by the movement of water and the cultural landscapes it connects. The collaboration marks Ahluwalia’s first exploration of wallcoverings, translating the designer’s distinctive visual language into an immersive mural format.

All images Ahluwalia SS27 / Spring/Summer 2027 by the brand. Credits To : Creative Director Priya Ahluwalia, Stylist Nell Kalonji, Casting Director Troy Casting, Hair Stylists Cos Sakkas for Toni&Guy, Makeup Artist Rebecca Davenport using ILIA Beauty, Manicurist Viktotia Kolodii for MVK, Music Composition Tom Tripp, Lighting Designer Aurelie Nedjar at Lightlab, Production: Little Giant Production, Communications Karla Otto, Runway Photography: Stefan Knauer and Olivier Cassie, Backstage Photography Jason Lloyd-Evans, Lily Craigen, and Josh Upton, Video DUCK Productions, Press Release Sik Frydas