London

London Fashion Week Spring 2008: round-up
This season, London finally got its mojo back, thanks in part to Vivienne Westwood who returned with her diffusion Red Label for the first time in ten years. There were more than 100 on- and off-schedule shows, including a clutch of heritage London labels (Ossie Clark and Jaeger joining Biba for catwalk comebacks), a smattering of fresh talents and the new generation of power players such as Christopher Kane, David David, Marios Schwab and Louise Goldin (to name just a few).

This optimistic atmosphere enticed more international press and buyers, including the vital Asian and Russian markets. Suddenly everyone – from hip French fashion magazine editors to Japanese students and American style writers – seemed to want a piece of our homegrown cool. And to prove it, Fashion Week relocated for an entire day and night to London fashion’s creative heart: the East End. ‘The Block’ included Lulu Kennedy’s Fashion East show (now an unmissable show on the London schedule), dreamy Roksanda Ilincic, innovative Gareth Pugh and the masterful Giles Deacon.

Later, much later on, we found ourselves with the designers at the ‘Block party’ and the next morning we awoke and remembered what London Fashion Week is really all about: industrial warehouse-sized hangovers. Feature continues

Peter Jensen closed the week with his 'Candice-Marie' collection in Conway Hall, an old music hall in Red Lion Square in Holborn. On stage were three tiny tents – a homage to Mike Leigh's 'Nuts in May' with Alison Steadman (who plays the part of the painfully vegetarian nature-loving Candice-Marie). Out of one popped Jensen's heroine in a fox knit jumper and red check wool pencil skirt – and so began a witty, wearable and warmly quirky collection that's sure to delight.

We loved the knitted scarves in the shape of snakes, a moleskin bag in the shape of a floppy pony, complete with (real?) horsehair, and the hand-crocheted granny skirt-suits, but also the excellent yellow satin top with a finely pleated cape-neck, the olive moleskin suit and the waxed-cotton anorak. Peter Jensen's subtle touches of humour never overwhelm and he remains a firm favourite on the London fashion circuit.

Purple and platforms at House of Holland

Trends of the week
Cape coats
‘Is it a cape, is it a coat?’ was the most pressing question on so many front-rowers’ lips. These elegant 1960s-style hybrids – many with neat leather belts woven through the waist – cropped up at Biba, Topshop and Jaeger.

Ruffles
Intricate flourishes of ruffles seen everywhere from Christopher Kane to Gavin Douglas via Basso & Brooke.

Bubble skirts
Pronounced skirts the shape of apples were big news at Armand Basi, PPQ and Sinha-Stanic.

Purple
Everything from vibrant violet to deepest iris shades were seen across the catwalk in the form of tights at Basso & Brooke, ruffle dresses at Felder Felder and crazy tartans at House of Holland.

Platforms
Still the big shape in footwear. This time around, they’re less chunky with vertiginous cone-shaped heels and more elegant toes.

Sexy tweed
Racy new interpretations of this fabric are big news this autumn with sparkly tweeds on the catwalks at Biba, Jaeger and House of Holland.

Vampy lips
Dark lippy made bold make-up statements at Modernist and Jaeger.

Shoulder pads
As seen at PPQ, Gareth Pugh, Marios Schwab and Jens Laugesen.

Cherry red
Splashes of this vibrant red seen at Ashish, Ann Sofie Back and Aquascutum.

Style file
Steal it!
Teddy boy loafers 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 on many a talon last week.

Bin it!
Bronzer: there were too many tangerine faces. Pale, natural complexions are back this autumn, thankfully.

Vivienne Westwood Red Label

Top ten shows
Vivienne Westwood Red Label
Inspired by the Kings Road in the 1970s, Vivienne Westwood’s first London show in ten years was glamorous, gutsy and super-polished. A parade of stunning models, including Lily Donaldson and Alice Gibb, showed off her collection of pinstripe tailoring, signature draped evening dresses and punky tartans to perfection.

House of Holland
Wedged between an East End massage parlour and a gay sauna, young Henry Holland’s House of Holland show kicked off with jaunty Scots disco beats and it-model Agyness Deyn in the designer’s traditionally made tartan.

Fashion East
Noki, the masked stylist-cum-designer ripped up Mickey Mouse T-shirts, customised creepy tribal face-pieces and slicked up gravity defying pony-tail spikes. He finished off with former Skunk Anansie singer Skin trotting along as his ‘Sustainable Bride’. The elegantly made David David was a stark contrast – clean-lined, geometric and instantly wearable – while Louise Gray curled zips and nipple tassels naughtily over simple chiffon shifts.

Roksanda Ilincic
The Serbian designer’s trademark fluid cocktail dresses were given a structural twist this season. We loved the little splashes of neon in an otherwise muted, softly pretty collection.

Marios Schwab
Greek-Austrian designer Marios Schwab attracts fashion editors like flies; quivering with excitement pre-show, they weren’t disappointed. Marios played with proportion, elongating the body with flesh-coloured tube dresses and cropped jackets.

Gareth Pugh
This season the subversive, Sunderland-born designer Gareth Pugh sent black-clad cyber-warrior women down the catwalk in dresses made from zippers with huge shoulders and voluminous Puffa-style jackets.

Christopher Kane

Christopher Kane
The young Scottish designer, a darling of Donatella Versace, has become one of London Fashion Week’s hottest tickets. The collection included heavy cropped biker jackets scattered with studs and rivets and delicate dresses adorned with paillettes (giant sequins).

Giles
Giles Deacon presented a beautifully crafted collection based on the screen adaptation of Poe’s ‘The Masque of the Red Death’. His deathly disco of red-carpet looks and clever padded dresses in finest duchesse silk satin, dripped with detail.

Emma Cook
After a break for two seasons, Emma Cook returned triumphant, with her peppermint green Dolly Parton-like collection, Lonesome Suzie, with tie-dye leggings, geometric star-web prints and a rather sexy cowgirl fringed frock.

Erdem
Erdem Moralioglu presented some exquisitely crafted dresses with paint-brush prints, floor-length frothy lace gowns and Mackintosh coats with rosette-strewn hems.

London Fashion Weekend
You may have missed the catwalk shows but that’s no cause for despair. London Fashion Weekend will see more than 100 designers offering as much as a whopping 80 per cent off labels such as Paul & Joe, Ben de Lisi and PPQ. You’ll have your wardrobe bang up to date in no time without breaking the bank.
London Fashion Weekend, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Rd, SW7 (www.londonfashionweekend.co.uk) South Kensington tube. Wed 20th Feb - Sun 24th Feb. Weds 5pm-9pm (preview evening, £15.50), Thur 11am-2pm, 1-4pm & 5-9pm, Fri 10am-2pm & 2-6pm, Sat-Sun 10am-1pm, 1-3pm & 3-6pm. Adm £10, concs; Time Out readers quote code TIM for 15 per cent off advanced booking.