By Lara Owen

Copyright ok

Designers Vin and Omi put Great British Bake Off star Dame Prue Leith on the runway in a reworked parachute to kick off London Fashion Week. The eco-minded designers teamed up with King Charles to craft reimagined garments and organic fabrics made from red barked dogwood – a woody shrub sourced from the Sandringham estate.

Prue, 85, was accompanied by journalist and Loose Women celebrity Jane Moore, environmental advocate Jo Wood and Raf Beeny, son of Sarah Beeny and band member of The Entitled Sons. The culinary genius sported a reworked red parachute down the catwalk, complete with coordinating red earrings and rimmed spectacles.

“Deep down inside, Prue (Leith) is a punk – she’s not all Chantilly cream and Victoria sponge,” designer Omi told PA Media. Broadcaster Jane Moore, 63, also appeared virtually unrecognisable, sporting a jet-black towering wig and serpent-print latex outfit.

Meanwhile, model and TV personality Jo Wood, 70, donned a plunging black latex gown crafted entirely from plant waste. Omi added: “It’s so chaotic you couldn’t just design something light and fluffy – we didn’t want to be tone-deaf to what people are facing.”

This pandemonium lies at the heart of ‘Dysphoriana’ itself – the name of this season’s collection. “It’s very, very confronting – we’ve created chaos within beauty and that juxtaposition makes you sit down and question,” Omi continued.

“Each piece is almost like a manifesto coming down the runway. It’s not meant to provoke; it’s meant for people to think.” Although Vin and Omi have long been advocates for environmental sustainability, this season they’ve also drawn inspiration from other social causes.

Three pieces were precisely crafted to support a worldwide anti-bullying charity. Discussing the fashion industry, Omi continued: “Models we’ve known have killed themselves along the way because of bullying…It’s really, really important.”

Even their royal collaboration is viewed as a way to uncover little gems amidst the wider chaos. “Amongst all this dysphoria and chaos, this collaboration with the King is about showing people there are still little beauties you can find,” Omi said.

Nevertheless, he added: “The only two things we have in common with him are the environment and humour – everything else we’re not interested in.”

While the runway displayed latex gowns and parachute dresses, the designers contend that their approach represents their true rebellion. “Fashion isn’t curing cancer,” he added. “We’re a service industry, problem-solvers.

“We can’t fight everything… but what we’re good at is infiltrating big organisations and making them think about the environment.” For Prue Leith, striding out in a red parachute rather than a kitchen apron, it was a chance to upend expectations.

For the Vin and Omi audience, it demonstrated that style and sustainability can coexist, even at London Fashion Week.