London Fashion Week’s Fall/Winter 2026 edition kicked off with a surprise guest: none other than King Charles III himself, who sat front row at Tolu Coker’s show at the NewGen Space at 180 Strand on Thursday afternoon. “I heard that rumor as well,” the British-Nigerian designer laughs, when asked a couple of days before the show about the murmurings that His Royal Highness would be making a special appearance.
In many ways, the presence of King Charles marks a full circle moment for Coker, who received mentorship via the Prince’s Trust when she first decided to set up her own brand back in 2018. “When you’ve got a dream of doing something, [you need to understand] what’s the reality, the logistics, the practicality of it,” she explains. “The Prince’s Trust was a big resource for that. I met a lot of people who are now entrepreneurs, people from working-class backgrounds who just wanted to start a business.”
King Charles III sits on the front row for British-Nigerian designer Tolu Coker, the opening show of London Fashion Week 2026, at 180 Studios, central London. Picture date: Thursday February 19, 2026. (Photo by Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images)Aaron Chown – PA Images/Getty Images
While designing her FW26 collection, Coker was looking back at her roots growing up on the Mozart council estate in west London, following the death of her neighbor of 20 years just over a year ago. “It took me back to when we were younger, and what it was like to be on our block, playing out and hanging out, the simplicity of things,” she reflects.
As a working-class designer creating luxury womenswear, Coker was also thinking about the idea of social mobility this season. One of her first jobs was as a sales assistant for the Louis Vuitton concession at Selfridges, when she was given her first luxury outfit to wear. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s like my first designer thing’, but it’s your uniform, right?” she recalls, noting that some of the tailoring is reflective of that suit you might have borrowed for a job interview. “The collection is a big commentary on social mobility and how our wardrobes mobilize with us.”
Aaron Chown – PA Images/Getty Images