Frieze London 2025: all the fashion moments to look out for – Charm

If fashion and art were once reticent bedfellows, the past two decades have seen the two mediums enter symbiosis through a near-endless slew of collaborations, exhibition sponsorships, artist-designed runway sets and art-filled boutiques. It is unsurprising, then, that when it comes to the arrival of Frieze Week – whether the fair’s New York, London, Los Angeles or Seoul iterations – a line-up of fashion activations follows.

Such is the case for Frieze London 2025, which opens for previews today (15 October), with numerous fashion brands hosting events across the week. And, while a number of these might seem opportunist grabs for the art world’s cultural heft, an equal number show the potential spoils of the partnership – whether Stone Island’s sponsorship of Frieze Focus (the scheme supports emerging galleries), Dunhill’s always-illuminating Frieze Masters talks, or the arrival of Prada Mode in London, the Italian fashion house’s roving programme of cultural events. For this edition, the house hands the reins to Berlin-based duo Elmgreen & Dragset, who have created a surreal cinema that will host a curated programme of talks, lectures and screenings over the coming days.

Here, Wallpaper* selects the best fashion happenings to add to your Frieze London 2025 schedule.

Dunhill will host its annual Frieze Masters talks

A still from one of last year’s Frieze Masters Talks, which are supported by Dunhill

(Image credit: Dunhill)

The relative calm of Frieze Masters provides a welcome respite from the frenetic main fair, where low-lit booths and hushed chatter surround an always intriguing display – from ancient antiquity to mid-century masterworks, and all that came in between (the cut-off year to be displayed at Frieze Masters is the year 2000, with the oldest objects dating back millenia). It makes the perfect setting for Dunhill’s tranquil ‘Frieze Masters Talks’, which sees the British heritage house invite a line-up of artistic luminaries – from those with works displayed in Frieze Masters to curators, writers and collectors – to take part in a series of talks across the week, giving visitors a well-earned moment of quiet contemplation amid the noise elsewhere.

Always illuminating, this year’s schedule is curated by director of Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi Arturo Galansino and includes conversations between Tracey Emin and director of the British Museum Nicholas Cullinan (‘Confessions in the Museum’ is the title of their talk), artist Edward George and author Matthew Harle (they will discuss George’s ‘Black Atlas’ project), and artist Anthony Gormley who will discuss ‘Sculpting a New Humanism’ alongside Galansino himself (a full schedule is available on Frieze Masters’ website). Always impeccably staged, the intimate talks and enveloping interiors have the feel of an exclusive member’s club – not unlike Dunhill’s sanctuary-like Bourdon House in Mayfair, the former residence of the Hugh Grosvenor, the 2nd Duke of Westminster.

Discover the full programme here.

Prada Mode arrives in London

Prada Mode Abu Dhabi — The last edition of Prada Mode, which took place in Abu Dhabi earlier this year

Prada Mode is the Italian fashion house’s immersive arts-led programme, which has taken place in a series of locations around the world – the last edition took place in Abu Dhabi earlier this year, seeing American artist Theaster Gates curate a schedule of talks and events in a site-specific space in the city’s MiZa district. After previously taking place in London back in 2019 (the house took over the subterranean basement of 180 Strand, turning it into a surreal jazz bar), the 2025 edition sees Prada Mode return to London, curated by Berlin-based duo Elmgreen & Dragset.

They have created a special installation for the event titled ‘The Audience’ in Town Hall, a recently opened cultural centre close to King’s Cross station, comprising a simulacrum of a cinema populated by a series of their hyper-realistic figures (on the screen, a purposefully blurred movie plays). Running for previews from today (15 October) until 19 October, participants include the artists themselves, as well as Shona Heath, Elizabeth Diller, James Massiah, Kirsty Sedgman, James Price and more, with a series of talks, events and screenings unfolding in the surreal cinema space.

Register for Prada Mode here.

Stone Island continues its support of Frieze Focus

Part of its global Frieze partnership, Italian technical-wear brand Stone Island will support this year’s edition of Frieze Focus, an offshoot of the fair which gives exhibition space to emerging galleries and the artists that they represent. This year, the eclectic line-up spans 35 international galleries, from London’s Nicoletti, which will show works by Texas-born, London-based artist Gray Weilebinski, to institutions in Beirut, Cairo, Shanghai, Warsaw, Seoul and Athens (among many others).

‘This year marks the third consecutive year of our sponsorship of Frieze Focus, a partnership that celebrates the influence of contemporary art within Stone Island’s global community,’ says Robert Triefus, Stone Island’s CEO. ‘We are delighted to continue our support of the Focus section at Frieze, championing emerging gallerists and the artists they represent’

Dover Street Market celebrates Frieze 2025

Craig Green Portable Chairs DSM Exclusive (7) — Craig Green’s ‘Portable Chairs’, part of Frieze 25 at DSM

For each edition of Frieze London, Rei Kawakubo and Adrian Joffe’s Dover Street Market hosts a buzzy evening in the Haymarket concept store, inviting artists and fashion designers alike to set up shop. Taking place on Thursday evening – with further activations happening across the weekend – the eclectic line-up includes a window display featuring pieces by Georgia O’Keefe (Kawakubo has curated the line-up), a showing of work by British artist Sonia Boyce, as well as installations from Air Jordan by Assouline and Stone Island Denim Research. For fashion fans, the event also heralds the arrival of Saint Laurent in the store – the Parisian house will be unveiling their new dedicated space as part of the festivities – and there will be an opportunity to shop a series of special launches, including a series of portable ‘seats’ by Craig Green, revealed by the designer today on Instagram.

Rick Owens displays his furniture at Carpenters Workshop Gallery

Rick Owens furniture exhibition — A Rick Owens-designed bed, part of a new exhibition at west London’s Carpenters Workshop Gallery

Multi-hyphenate fashion designer Rick Owens has chosen Frieze week to open a new exhibition at west London’s Carpenters Workshop Gallery, displaying a series of furniture created alongside his wife Michèle Lamy (she also serves as the exhibition’s curator). Titled ‘Rust Never Sleeps’, the various creations – each in Owens’ signature monolithic style – are largely crafted from patinated metal inspired by London’s long tradition of Brutalist architecture. We got a special walkthrough from Lamy last week, with memorable highlights including an enormous elm bed complete with antler horns, a rusted steel and crocodile leather day bed, and an enormous marble urn, rendered in Owens’ moody, visually arresting style. ‘Taking its title from Neil Young’s 1979 anthem – the exhibition transforms the phrase into a manifesto for artistic endurance: it is better to burn out than to fade away,’ read the lyrical press notes.

Rick Owens: Rust Never Sleeps runs at the Carpenters Workshop London until 14 February 2026.

Phoebe Philo supports Peter Doig’s new exhibition, ‘House of Music’

artwork — Peter Doig’s ‘House of Music’ at the Serpentine Galleries

Phoebe Philo, the former Celine and Chloé designer who now helms an eponymous London label, serves as the principal sponsor of Peter Doig’s new exhibition – a testament to her own long-standing link with the art world. Titled ‘House of Music’, the exhibition at the Serpentine Galleries invites visitors to ‘sit, linger, take a nap’ in the space, which sees the British artist’s paintings displayed amid midcentury furnishings and backdropped by a sound system featuring a bespoke soundtrack comprising over 300 records. ‘The idea of having furniture and chairs here is that some people feel like they can linger, they may even want to have a nap,’ he told Wallpaper*, noting that it was a rare opportunity to see works that are in private hands made public. ‘The paintings often end up in private hands, and the people who get to see them are very few. So, it’s making all aspects public.’