It’s been a little quiet over here because I always like the newsletters to feel like an organic part of what I do. When it comes to the podcast it’s out every Friday, and when it comes to creating videos, I’m always working on 3-4 per week, as well as a YouTube deep dive plus ‘my actual work’, (I’m a writer and photographer) so I always wanted this to feel more real. Whenever I write a newsletter it’s because the words literally won’t leave me alone until I write them here on Substack.
So before I get into what’s in my head - the impending Great Exhaustion - let’s do the usual catch up.
Where I’ve been
London Fashion Week was a very different affair this year. Things felt quieter in the run up; I contacted just two of my favourite designers and one of them said they weren’t showing at all, while the other said they were showing in Paris. Even brands who usually sponsor shows backstage seemed super quiet. In some ways it felt necessary; there is so much pressure around a show for a designer because there are so many moving parts. It also felt necessary because of the current state of fashion - broadly speaking the big boys are looking to increase their profits as customers criticise quality, while smaller designers are creating the most inspired pieces but don’t have the investment to grow.
I’d already mentally prepared myself to have a much smaller LFW; I wanted to have a more intimate experience with 2 or 3 shows rather than run myself ragged, and that’s exactly what I got. You’ll get the full story in tomorrow’s podcast but the imagery below will tell you which shows I attended.









What I’ve been doing
I wrote a piece on teeth blackening for Dazed Beauty. You might have seen my video on Sailorr’s black grillz that went a bit viral on TikTok and Youtube and it was the comments that prompted me to find a space where I could write about it at length and hopefully educate anyone who had a negative response to her ‘black mouth’. I got to chat with Sailorr about the tradition that inspired her choice to wear black grillz and you can read the full thing here.
What I’m watching
I caved. I’m watching Severance. I’m on episode 4 of season 1 and WTF Helly.
What I’m thinking
In the title of this Substack I typed the words of artist Andy Warhol: it’s time to let the ‘little things suddenly thrill you’, and it really reminded me of WGSN’s report on the forthcoming Great Exhaustion, forecast for 2026.
Simply put, the Great Exhaustion is a time when we’re predicted to reach peak overwhelm. Thanks to the pandemic, genocide, fires in Los Angeles, a new US President, the concerns around AI and always being on when it comes to our phones and social media, the trend agency forecasts that we are all going to be searching for new experiences - whether that’s being outside more, learning a craft, prioritising personal care or mental health.
Instead of reaching for our phones to mindlessly numb ourselves against a constant barrage of traumatic events, we’re going to want to exist in a more positive way. For some of us that means getting outside, for others that will mean coming together collectively to bring about real, necessary change.
I don’t think we need to look ahead to 2026, because the Great Exhaustion is already here; just like artists, fashion designers often hold up a mirror to where the world is, and for me, several of the shows at London Fashion Week hinted at this concept of ‘happy exhaustion’ – the girl or woman who’s been out all night and looks amazing doing so, and also doesn’t care if she’s looking less than perfect by the time the morning after comes around. I say ‘happy’ exhaustion because the shows hinted at that time just before you need a detox or a break. Sometimes you can live life loudly right up until that point where your body or mind tells you PAUSE.
I had this feeling attending the Huishan Zhang show and also the Dilara Findikoglu show – and while I wasn’t there, I also felt it come through more literally in the Ashish show.
The show was called Crisis of Confidence and featured a range of bright pieces, stripes, sequins, as well as a wide range of diverse models. The designer himself referred to the show as the walk of shame on his Instagram Stories – which I feel most of us can relate to.
It makes perfect sense that fashion designers had fun with this concept of happy exhaustion because they too must be feeling the pressure to perform - why shouldn’t the shows be one last happy moment before they take a break?
Back in 2022 WGSN warned about influencer fatigue and how the Pandemic made people grow tired of this kind of fake perfection often seen on Instagram and Youtube - influencers with their diet teas – instead people wanted to rally around creators who could teach them something. Fast forward to today and bedrotting has become something that celebrates laziness or restfulness. For me it makes total sense that the AW25 collections were almost a kind of last hurrah, wearing our best makeup and clothes, before we all take a longterm duvet day. But what do you think? Let me know!
Of course none of the above means that you dip your head and hide from the huge, life-changing things happening around you. The awful things happening to your neighbours, your friends or humans on the internet in another country. But you’re allowed to find the joy, get some rest - and then get back out there. Change is never quiet and it isn’t going to be easy.