London's Fashion in Film Festival marks 20th anniversary with rare fashion archive screenings

Fashion in Film Festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a series of screenings and events across London, bringing rarely seen films exploring fashion, identity and subcultures to audiences.

Titled ‘The Party and the Guests’, the programme runs from November 28 to December 6, 2026, with screenings at venues including the Barbican Centre, the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), Ciné Lumière and Rio Cinema.

Highlights include Top Ten Designers in Paris (1980), an experimental film offering a rare look at ten Paris catwalk shows from 1979, featuring designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Issey Miyake, Karl Lagerfeld and Thierry Mugler. Other screenings explore 1980s queer and post-punk cultures through the work of filmmakers John Maybury and Vivienne Dick.

The programme will also feature live music, newly commissioned sound, discussions and introductions from guest curators, writers and artists, including musician Jarvis Cocker, who will accompany a screening of the 1913 silent film Protéa.

Founded in 2006 and based at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, the festival is dedicated to connecting archival film with fashion, art and visual culture. Its anniversary season intends to honour co-founder and costume designer Roger K. Burton, who died in 2025.