Why Wendy houses are having a serious fashion moment

Forget your middle-class aspirations of a bouji garden office duplex — fashion has decreed the humble Wendy house to be the external living area flex you didn’t know your toddler (and, er, David Cameron) was an early adopter of. At Prada’s June menswear outing the models trotted out of a little white wooden house to the sounds of blaring techno (nursery rhymes are not the vibe); over at Sacai, Abe Chitose built a wooden house-like framework structure for her show set; Bianca Saunders featured a T-shirt with her ‘happy home recipe’ (one barrel of laughter, five spoons of hope, two spoons of tenderness) emblazoned on the front with a naif drawing of a house to accompany it; while at Dior, Kim Jones leaned into knick-knack accompaniments via his collaboration with South African ceramicist and artist Hylton Nel. Never one to miss a whimsical mood, JW Anderson offered homey (literally) intarsia knits, left. Staying in has never looked quite so adorable.

Bored of all that pedestrian cutlery jarring your drawers? Welcome one of our favourite London-based jewellers, Rosh Mahtani of Alighieri, to the tablescape game. Taking its cue from her esoteric inspirations, the new Casa range includes deliciously crafted candlesticks, dishes and cutlery, and is described as ‘rituals for the home’. Mahtani says, ‘The lighting of the candle is an incredibly spiritual practice for me; as a child, I saw my grandparents light a candle to begin an Indian prayer ceremony; when I’m at work, it signifies the beginning of a new piece of jewellery; and at the end of the day, it marks the close of a chapter.’ We’re in. From £150 alighieri.com

So-called socially conscious and sustainable labels are 10 a penny these days, but rare is the brand that really does walk the talk. So, say hello to Australian brand Alémais. Lesleigh Jermanus’ label draws on her Lebanese heritage through her covetable prints, patchworks and embroideries, but more than that works honestly with global artisans to realise her vision.

A case in point is the Kenyan factory Soko — founded by Londoner Joanna Maiden — which produces some of the whimsically embroidered dresses in the collection. Soko ensures its workers are all paid a living wage, have access to healthcare and flexibility for working mothers. Jermanus has developed her own strategy to ensure all of its suppliers meet her stringent standards. Aside from that, the pieces are simply beautiful and, lucky for us, now available in Harvey Nichols and a summer pop-up at Selfridges. From £120, alemais.com