You only get one chance to make a first impression, or so the saying goes. Luckily, designer Petra Fagerström left a resounding first impression on the fashion industry during last year’s Central Saint Martins MA graduate show. Her delicate lenticular pleating quickly caught the attention of stylist Harry Lambert (who she’s collaborated with for this debut) and, as of last week, landed her a nomination for the 2026 LVMH Prize. The success of her graduate collection is both a blessing and a curse (90 per cent a blessing, 10 per cent a curse), adding an extra layer of pressure to her London Fashion Week debut.

Hosted in Farringdon, upstairs from her Paul Smith Foundation studio – and, coincidentally, on the same floor as the Dazed offices – Fagerström presented a succinct 16 looks inspired by her childhood as a figure skating prodigy. While growing up in Gothenburg, she fell in love with fashion while designing her own ice skating costumes, making her AW26 presentation a full circle moment. 

To be more specific, the collection is about one particular character that crops up a lot in figure skating: the proud parent who doubles up as the pushy coach. “She’s a woman who lives in her youth and wants to recreate that through coaching her daughter,” Fagerström explains. “The makeup is for a grown-up woman who’s sentimental about her youth. It’s someone a bit stuck in the past.” 

In the seven days leading up to her London Fashion Week debut, I spoke to Fagerström every day to get an update on the behind-the-scenes chaos (or lack thereof). As well as getting an insight into what it takes to put on a presentation, we also learnt her go-to meal deal combination and the exact moment her nerves set in. 

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16

KATE BUSH ON REPEAT

I woke up super early. I’m quite tired; it’s starting to get to me.

I had coffee and then headed to the studio. 

We had a lot of meetings today. There was a meeting with hair and makeup where we started discussing what we would do. Up until lunch, I was sewing with Agnes [Holm, brand co-founder] on FaceTime, going through all the garments from our Spring/Summer production. 

I had a lot of caffeine, then got a meal deal from Sainsbury’s with Erick [Magaña Santiago], who’s helping. We were listening to music – for some reason, I had the Super Mario theme song stuck in my head. There was a lot of The Strokes, and Kate Bush was on repeat. 

We finished super late. I went home around midnight. 

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17

THREE MORE DRESSES!

It was another early morning. We had a full house in the studio with friends helping [Lily Teiger and Alice Barron]. Today we finished the final garment of the collection, but then decided to make three more! If you can, why wouldn’t you? 

Storm Foster has been collaborating with me on the hats, which we’ll allocate tomorrow during the fitting. I love a hat – I’ve probably made too many. We also started allocating shoes today, which have been supported by Manolo Blahnik. 💗

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18

STARTING TO GET NERVOUS

Both yesterday and today have been making, making, making (and having meetings with production about the lighting). 

I had another meal deal for lunch. This week it’s mostly been a feta and spinach wrap, a fruit or a pastry, and a Celsius to drink. We were listening to a lot of Joy Division today. My friend and stylist Amy Ta has been in the office, so she’s been playing a lot of Yung Lean. 

This evening we’re going to order food and get all the looks ready for tomorrow’s fitting. It’s getting close now, I can feel the pulse. I’m starting to get nervous. 

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19

FITTINGS WITH HARRY

Today we did fittings with Harry [Lambert] and Harry’s team: Naomi, Ella and Zaza. It’s been a long one. We started the fittings at 2pm. It actually went very smoothly – I’m actually surprised by how calm I am and how on time this feels, which usually isn’t the case. But who knows, maybe I’ll add one more look. 

We’re still deciding on the music because I keep listening to different songs. 🎶🎧

Agnes has been going through all the invites, making sure everyone is invited. This is our first big production so it’s a lot to think about, but it feels quite under control. The mood is good... famous last words! 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

Today felt like the calm before the storm.🌪️ We had to take care of all the amendments after the fitting – it was all about closing linings and fixing hems, sleeve lengths, those sorts of things. 

We’re still on time and on schedule. Usually I’m still making garments until the night before.

We’ve been playing Swedish bangers (Robyn, Fever Ray, Kent) in the studio, and it’s been a Kate Bush kind of day. Tomorrow we’re going to need something more upbeat. We had ANOTHER meal deal for lunch but me and Agnes are going to eat out on the way home as a little treat.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21

EXCITED BUT TIRED

Today we were casting. Harry was here, and we set up the backstage area. It was a pretty late one so we ended up ordering pizza. The energy is quite low now, so we’ve been listening to more upbeat music like Avicii. We’re excited but tired. What I said about being super calm is officially not a thing anymore.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22

ADDING ANOTHER LOOK

Today felt like the longest day of my life.

We got to the studio around 8am, we finished casting, did hair and makeup tests, seeing models back to back and trying looks. The spirit is really good again! There were a few tired crashes and naps around the studio.

When you start seeing the looks as they will be in the presentation, that’s when the nerves really kick in. We even decided to spontaneously add a look at midday, so we had to make a sequin skirt. It wouldn’t be show day if you’re not making a look the night before.

It’s so funny that I’ve been working on this collection for the past four months, and suddenly all we see everywhere are figure skaters at the Olympics! We were also so inspired by Alysa Liu, who won the gold medal! She’s an amazing character, so we wanted to bring a bit of her into it. 

It’s been a luxurious day for food because we ordered Indian takeaway for the whole team.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21

SHOW DAY (GO, GO, GO)

Today was show day. We woke up at 5am because the call time was 7:30am. We set up the lights, the sound, and the show space. Models started arriving around 1 pm and from then on it was go, go, go, with hair and makeup! I don’t think I had one sip of water until after it had finished because I was so focused on checking every look.

There was a silver dress that was made this morning – it was the sequin skirt, but I turned it into a dress while everyone was having their hair and make-up done. There were two dogs running around, a shoot happening, models getting dressed – it was a couple of hours of complete mayhem. 

It was super tiring, but I’m happy with how it turned out. Byredo provided all the candles and incense, which made it feel really special. Then afterwards we had to clean everything up, so we didn’t get out until about 9pm. Then me and Agnes had so much admin to do, so we didn’t get the big celebration that we wanted because we ended up working until 1am. Hopefully we’ll get that celebration drink tomorrow!