The King Made A Surprise Appearance At Tolu Coker’s London Fashion Week Show

The Fall/Winter 2026 edition of London Fashion Week kicked off with a surprise guest: none other than King Charles III himself, who was sitting front row at the Tolu Coker show at NewGen Space at 180 Strand on Thursday afternoon. “I’ve heard the rumour, too,” the British-Nigerian designer laughed when asked days before the show about rumors that His Royal Highness would make a special appearance.

In many ways, the emergence of King Charles is a full-circle moment for Coker, who received guidance through the Prince’s Trust when she first decided to build her own brand in 2018. [you need to understand] What are the realities, logistics and practicalities,” she explained. “The Prince’s Trust is a great resource in this regard. I meet a lot of people who are now entrepreneurs who came from working class backgrounds and just wanted to start a business. “

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In designing her Autumn/Winter 2026 collection, Coker looked back to her roots growing up on Mozart’s council estate in west London, just over a year after her neighbor of 20 years died. “It took me back to when we were young, playing and hanging out in our neighborhood, the simplicity of things,” she recalled.

As a working-class designer creating luxury womenswear, Coker also considered the idea of social mobility this season. Her first job was as a sales assistant at Selfridges Louis Vuitton franchise store, where she got her first set of luxury clothes. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is like my first designer piece,’ but it’s your uniform, right?” she recalled, noting that some of the cuts mirrored the suit you might have borrowed for a job interview. “This collection is an important commentary on social mobility and how our wardrobes move with us.”