London

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5

Day 4
Twenty eight shows down, as Wednesday arrived heads were throbbing from the previous night’s Christopher Kane party at Bungalow 8. Today all the East End designers were showing out east, culminating in some big old party at the Andaz Hotel. Maggie Davis reports and profiles designer Ashish. Dan Jones has the party low-down

Today's fashion tips
Steal it!
Teddy boy loafers – they looked positively cool at the David David show.

Make it!
Customise a basic white cap Noki-style by cutting up its peak and sculpting it into a fun new shape.

Wear it now!
Blue-black nail varnish – given away in the Fashion East goodie bags and spied in the audience.

Bin it!
Bronzer – too many tangerine faces. Pale skin is back this autumn y'know. Feature continues

Spotted
The gorgeous Judy Blame in the front row of Fashion East whooping and cheering (or ‘cheerleading’ as he likes to call it)... Skin as she walked down the catwalk in Noki… Kelly Osbourne looking pretty but grumpy at House of Holland... Lily Allen in some fine killer heels and a pencil skirt at Giles… Kimberley Stewart in the front row at House of Holland.

The Eastern block
4.35pm... ‘HENRY, HENRY, HENRY,’ yelled the front row as Henry Holland’s ‘House of Holland’ show, held in a dingy old Shoreditch warehouse, ran well over an hour late. The lights went on, the music blared and out strutted Holland’s bessie mate from up north Agyness Deyn in a rocking purple tartan frock. The entire show, one of the most raucous of the week, was a riot of electric purple tartan with fluro flecks. The crowd (think neon tights, crocked haircuts, abstract makeup and abstract outfits) were suitably revved-up after guzzling all those mini bottles of Moët. The best show of the week so far.

Noki at Fashion East

5.43pm... Next a dash up the road to Fashion East where Noki, the subversive designer who believes in recycling garments by customisation (ie cutting them up and adding weird shit) showed a typical collection with spooky tribal masks made from macramé, signature vintage T-shirts shredded and old jeans reworked into new styles with additional fabric. His finale piece modelled on his 'sustainable bride' Skin (ex-Skunk Anansie) was a weirdly attractive mashed-up ballgown.

The beautifully-made David David label designed by artist David Saunders, couldn’t have looked more of a contrast. All clean-lined and geometric (he likes triangles) Saunders presented some gorgeous knitwear and tailored coats for men and women – the leather bags were ultra-covetable too.

Louise Gray at Fashion East

On a lighter more feminine note were Louise Gray’s whimsical dresses which featured her signature adornment – usually around the nipple area, the saucy lass! This time, the petite Scottish designer curled zips around to create interesting 3D shapes on simple chiffon shifts. In all, a highly inspirational show.

6.37pm... A quick dash down the road to Roksanda Ilincic, where some girls from Elle magazine tried to oust us from our seat (the cheek!). Ilincic's graceful dresses served up glamour and elegance in heaps. The Serbian designer knows how to make a dress and the models, with hair slapped back and sculpted into neat knots and with china-doll makeup, were the prettiest of the week.

7.30pm... Well, you can always rely on master of the subversive Gareth Pugh, the lovely Sunderland-born designer, to come up with something totally avant-garde. This season he didn't disappoint: his collection, almost entirely in black, featured models who looked like cyber warrior women – there were some lovely, sumptuous and wearable coats in the mix.

Finally, showing just across the playground from his studio in the old Rochelle school hall, Giles Deacon presented a polished, beautifully crafted collection that turned the models to screen sirens. We bumped into an Amazonian Harper's girl swaddled in cashmere and fur after her jaunt out east: ‘I am traumatised, I now know why I live in west London,’ she smiled. We think this is a good sign, east London might be riotous but it positively rocks when it comes to creating new looks.

Party of the week
While a post-show Richard Nicoll celebrated with a quiet dinner at Shoreditch House with fellow Australians Dan Single and George Gorrow from Ksubi (with whom Nicoll has created an excellent eyewear range www.ksubi.com) and Harper's Bazaar senior fashion ed Vanessa Coyle, other designers rocked out at 'The Block Party', a mega aftershow event held in honour of Gareth Pugh, Roksanda Ilincic, House of Holland, Louise Gray, Noki and David David. The ballroom of Andaz (the recently revamped Great Eastern Hotel at Liverpool Street station) was packed with designers and their fashion-kid friends drinking Champagne and dancing to old-school hits.

Ashish

Designer profile: Ashish
Delhi-raised Ashish Gupta burst onto the London fashion scene in 2004 with a bedazzling range of colourful sequin-strewn bomber jackets and full '50s skirts worn with vintage Americana T-shirts. The designer, who splits his time between London and India, has since garnered a cult following which includes Lily Allen and Tori Amos. His clothes are stocked in Browns and Selfridges. Here he reveals exclusive details about his new collection.

Your star piece from the collection?
'An oversized wool coat covered in handmade wool-and-sequin cherries, because it’s exactly the kind of thing I love to do: handcrafted, quirky and beautiful.'

Sprit of the collection?
'Sexy and bonkers!'

Most important colour?
'Cherry red.'

Where is your collection made?
'Everything has been lovingly handmade in India.'

What's your main concern when the show begins?
'That no one falls over in our six-inch heels!'

Highs since becoming a designer?
'Seeing Madonna perform on stage in my sequinned bomber jacket.'

What makes London different to the rest? Why do you like showing here?
'London has an amazing energy, and there is freedom to be really creative and do just what you want to do.'

Style tip for spring?
'Be brave and wear what you love.'