Portal:M and Jenn Lee Bring the Future of Fashion to London Fashion Week SS26

London Fashion Week is no stranger to innovation, but every so often a showcase arrives that feels like a genuine shift in the way the industry works. This season it came from PortalM and Taiwanese designer Jenn Lee, who staged a two day “phygital” showroom at Village Underground. The installation blended physical garments with virtual reality, turning fashion into an interactive game and immersing more than four hundred visitors in a world where technology, design and storytelling collide.

This was not simply another show or presentation. It was a reimagining of what Fashion Week can be, and perhaps more importantly, who it is for.

A new kind of Fashion Week experience

Fashion Week has often felt like an insider’s playground, where the public can only glimpse the spectacle from the outside. PortalM and Jenn Lee’s experiment pushed against that idea. Guests were guided through a digital mansion where Jenn Lee’s latest Zipper collection materialised in front of them with a whip of virtual magic. Completing the journey unlocked a twenty per cent discount, proving that digital engagement can translate directly into commerce. It was playful, futuristic and cleverly designed to feel accessible.

Alongside the VR environment were opportunities to customise tote bags in real time using digital tools, as well as acupuncture sessions that offered a grounding counterpoint to the high energy of the experience. It was part retail space, part wellness lounge, part game zone. And all of it was underscored by the sense that fashion could be inclusive, interactive and commercially viable all at once.

For Jenn Lee the event also marked a personal milestone. Her tenth anniversary collection extended her exploration of rebellion and protection, themes that have shaped her signature work. The Zipper Series, long a central motif in her design language, took on a new form through phygital storytelling.

The digital mansion in VR used the act of zipping and unzipping as a narrative device. Multimedia animations and interactive guides allowed visitors to step into Lee’s world, making her emotional themes of resilience and identity immediately tangible. Where most collections are seen, this one was felt.

None of this would have been possible without the technology driving it. PortalM, supported by TAICCA and Makalot, positioned itself as a pioneer in phygital fashion. PlayNitride contributed its cutting edge Micro LED displays which were embedded into accessories to create dynamic visuals, while MSI UK provided the gaming laptops needed to power the experience.

The result was an ecosystem of innovation that presented Taiwan not just as a hub of manufacturing but as a creative force capable of reshaping the global fashion stage. It was a reminder that the evolution of fashion is inseparable from advances in technology, and that the future will belong to those who can weave the two together seamlessly.

What set this showcase apart was the appetite it revealed. Four hundred people chose to step into this world, many of them eager for behind the scenes access that Fashion Week rarely provides. The response underscored the demand for inclusivity and the value of inviting the public to be part of the narrative.

It also pointed towards a blueprint for future fashion weeks. By blending digital immersion with physical craftsmanship, brands can offer something richer than a catwalk. They can build stories that customers play a role in, and those stories can be connected directly to sales.

PortalM is intent on leading the charge in this new space. By working with designers, manufacturers and retailers to create digital content that expands creativity and fuels commercial growth, the company is setting a precedent that others will follow.

For Jenn Lee, the two day installation was more than an anniversary celebration. It was a statement about where fashion is headed. Clothing is no longer limited to fabric and form. It is an idea that can live as much in a virtual mansion as on a runway.

London Fashion Week has always been about pushing boundaries, but this season the boundaries felt different. They were not simply aesthetic or stylistic. They were structural. PortalM and Jenn Lee showed that the future of fashion is not defined by what we wear, but by how we experience it.