In a grand setting in Whitehall, Julien Macdonald continued to set the pace of change in his label. Thanks to new backing, in the space of a year, he has revved it up to modern luxury status. From the off, we recognised that the equestrienne was an inspiration, as girls with bedroom hair and come-hither eyes strode out in tobacco riding capes bonded with black leather over leather and suede panelled jodhpur leggings; or extravagant looped Aran sweaters with a grey pegged trouser and fierce, high ankle boots. Then came the great coats, a biker-and-coat combo, and shredded knitted dresses only Julien can do best. The curveball? Sexy negligée dresses – and what fine filigrees they were in black and pink or navy and black; long and short; pleated and fluted. What was the sexy horsewoman doing with a bare breast on show beneath gauzy black lace under her riding cape? Backstage, Julien’s inspiration became clear: “It was Jilly Cooper’s novel, Riders,” he grinned. “By day, they ride horses, and by night, they do naughty things to men in stables.” Don’t you just love Julien?
report by melanie rickey
A ripple of excitement went through the crowd as the lights went down for Todd Lynn yesterday – and then the paparazzi descended. Who were they here for? I spotted Marc Almond sitting next to Roland Mouret, but as the show commenced, a beam of light hit Mouret’s other neighbour – Janet Jackson! The show went on to be what you’d imagine the undead in a fashionable bar in True Blood would wear. Forget studs and chains – these vampires would be wearing Todd Lynn while standing around looking serious yet sexy. Todd designs brilliant jackets and slim trousers – a modern urban uniform of androgynous cool. His outfits operate on a one-colour basis; the colours in this show were pale nude, honey, tobacco brown and grey. Fabrics included suede, leather, wool and canvas. Matching high-heeled Louboutins were worn, and fox fur sprouted dramatically from shoulders. “It was about the hunter becoming the hunted. And, as always, I studied military uniform through the ages,” said Lynn. And the Janet connection? “We worked on her last video together. She flew over to see the show.”
REPORT BY MELANIE RICKEY
We’ve been keeping a close eye on developments at Aquascutum, holding our collective breath last season when the business was sold. Six months on, the brand, in the safe hands of fashion businessman Harold Tillman, is transformed, and its show last night was a pleasure to behold. Thus far, London designers have been treading safely when it comes to making new statements for A/W 10. Not Michael Herz for Aquascutum. He went long, long, long in a colour palette of navy, grey and military green, alongside camel wool, gold jacquard and black leather. Think a long, tailored skirt with a white shirt and a short, belted jacket with flat, silver dance shoes. Or wide-leg trousers worn with a tiny, belted padded jacket, again with a white shirt. Throw in a cape, a long, slim, covered- up dress and a trench and you’ve got the collection in a nutshell. But it was Herz’s confidence that made this a show-stopper. “It was inspired by The French Lieutenant’s Woman,” he said, “and it was my conviction to carry on the long silhouette I started for S/S. It’s the way the girls walk, wearing long with flats. It just feels right.” And it did.
REPORT BY MELANIE RICKEY
Jaws dropped when the Meadham Kirchhoff show began. Used to seeing black, moody collections from Ed Meadham and Ben Kirchhoff, the Arabic rugs, streams of tinsel on the floor and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring should have been a clue that this would be a bit different. The first look was a celebration of colour with a red mantilla worn over the face, topped with a tinsel tiara. Beneath that were two layers of floral dresses and long- john trousers, I think… There was so much to take in at once! Among the best individual pieces in this riot of a collection were the hand-painted biker jackets; the embroidered long skirts; the piles of Indian-inspired bangles created in collaboration with Erickson Beamon; red “nightie” dresses, orange floral blouses and the long event gowns. Oh, and the tinsel-embroidered shrunken- wool cardigans and sweaters. “We wanted to do as many pretty, amazing things as possible and put them all together,” explained Meadham. “It’s a narrative that begins in southern India and ends in southern Spain.” And success. Meadham Kirchhoff has arrived.
REPORT BY MELANIE RICKEY

Henry Holland is all about instant gratification; his front row provides plenty of activity – yesterday afternoon it was courtesy of Mr Hudson, Alexa Chung, Pixie Geldof and Marina Diamandis. His clothes are immediately uplifting – all that colour, all those Eighties references (lots of topknots and gold hoop earrings courtesy of Katie Hillier) – and, now, you can instantly buy it straight off the catwalk. Those with BlackBerry phones were invited to download a shopping application, allowing show spectators to shop from Holland’s show and order directly from the eight-piece slogan t-shirt range debuted mere minutes ago. Aside from t-shirts, what else was on display? Bandana paisley-prints on silk-crêpe de Chine breezy boiler suits and shirt dresses, shearling jackets, tight leather dresses and lots of hosiery (a collaboration with Pretty Polly) in candy-coloured hues of pink, aqua, lilac and palest grey. Unfortunately, shoppers will have to wait a bit longer for those pieces – in the meantime, buy the t-shirt.

Florals, flashes of neon-pink, swirling seams, sheer panelling, mohair… and that was just one dress. There is so much going on in a Michael van der Ham creation that it can be tricky keeping up. This season, London’s patchwork prince continued to explore the possibilities of his cleverly pieced-together party dresses comprising collages of clashing prints – many of them vintage fabrics sourced from Liberty’s vast archives (a silk pansy print was particularly pretty). But it was when he loosened things up with a series of sheer and blousy midi-length dresses that it suddenly began to look new. In addition to these were fisherman-ribbed sweaters that were backless with slashed necklines and spliced with mohair and softly draped silk. Van der Ham’s navy finale gown, with oyster crinkled silk-crêpe inserts and a smattering of chunky crystals dripping from one sleeve, was pretty sensational – now all he needs is a budding starlet to premiere it.

Emilio de la Morena’s star has been on the rise for a few seasons now. And this season, it sparkled. Inspired by otherworldly atmospheres and a young nomadic woman, de la Morena sent a collection of hits out onto the runway, with plenty of them venturing into new territory – namely in the shape of chunky silvery knitwear and outerwear such as sumptuous parkas, fashioned in softest wool from Italian luxury house Loro Piana (imagine, for a moment, how good they would feel to wear). But it was his, now signature, draped silk mini dresses – with their cleverly folded flippy panels and decorated in those mesmerising painterly prints resembling planetary landscapes (achieved by mixing oil paint with wax and others created by the crystallisation of watercolour and salt) – that this collection will be remembered for. Front row attendee Olivia Palermo would certainly look great in any of it. Order books at the ready.
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CHARLES ANASTASE

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photographed by catwalking.com
Report by Katie GreengassGrans and grandads, lock up your husky jackets, outerwear is having a moment. Our old friend the coat does, of course, make up the flavour of winter but this season London designers have played the cover up centre stage.
“Designers are especially concerned with jackets and coats this season,” Harrods’ Fashion and Beauty Director Marigay Mckee told The LFW Daily. “Bombers are the particular favourite along with the military style jackets,” she said.
Burberry based an entire collection around aviator jackets while Charles Anastase layered knitwear on top of overcoats. Daks took the husky and gave it an up to date, eccentric spin via leggings, capes and bonnets from the traditional fabric. Design duo Basso & Brooke weaved Trompe-l’œil goretex anoraks into their ensemble and at Aquascutum Michael Herz transformed tailored jackets into full-length dresses. Meanwhile, at Mens day today [Wed], E Tautz featured the ultimate in deluxe outerwear courtesy a cashmere fit for a prince. Luckily one [HRH Prince Michael] was sitting front row and was seemingly rather taken by it.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHANIQWA JARVIS
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The make-up inspiration for Ashish was Eastern European girls from an imaginary country called Ashishistan.
The models had to look very natural, with bare skin, just using M.A.C Face and Body Foundation.
The only feature of the face that was enhanced was the eyebrows, using M.A.C Impeccable Brow Pencil in a mix of Taupe and Dirty Blonde, to make them look dramatically unkept.
Lashed were just curled. And on the lips Prep + Prime Lip was applied to condition them without any glossy finish.
The final look was innocent raw beauty with a tough look in the eyes.
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CHRISTOPHER KANE

Christopher Kane has become masterful at delivering a clear, concise message, season in, season out. This time around, it was all about tailoring. In wool, or black matte or patent leather – much of it decorated with vibrant embroidery – it was contrasted with lace blouses or lace panels that were spliced across skirts and dresses. There was a folkloric feel to the colourfully embroidered pansies and wild flowers that started out gently running up the sleeve of a chiffon blouse or a black cashmere cardigan with artfully slashed sleeves, or across the hemline of a skirt, and ended up dancing all over short leather dresses. Later in the show, Kane traded the flowers for crystals with glittering starbursts appearing on matte leather mini-dresses or shell tops, or circling a deep black patent cummerbund that cinched a black wool jacket with crisp patent collar. There was a nod to his homeland in the neat (and super-short) black wool kilts and a gorgeous black patent biker jacket with lambskin collar that was embroidered with a cluster of Scottish thistles.
Report by CLARE COULSON
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MARIOS SCHWAB

If his first season at Halston was a distraction for Marios Schwab, he definitely didn’t show it in the strong, polished collection he sent out yesterday. He kicked off with a flesh-toned dress that was cut away at the bodice and edged with a waffly trimming. A series of pinafore dresses followed, all of which had a strict schoolgirl feeling (a nod, Schwab said, to being “the only boy at fashion school”), but were cut with curvilinear collars that dipped away to reveal crisp white shirting. Other jersey dresses were topped with beautifully cut, sculptural little jackets or pulled in at the waist with decorative corsetry. Schwab reinterpreted the dirndl, but there was nothing school-marmish about his full, short skirts and dresses that came out in loden wool, duchesse satin or richly coloured brocades. Later, he continued with the week’s yearning for embellishment, as crystals outlined the bodices of dresses, while textural coats in smoke grey or forest green, neatly belted at the waist, added to the plush, tactile feeling of this collection.
Report by CLARE COULSON
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ROKSANDA ILINCIC

From the voluminous crimped hair and glossy Seventies make up to the upbeat disco tunes, Roksanda Ilincic was in a New York state of mind for autumn, giving us a super-polished collection that was, she said, “all about the beauty of winter fabrics, their textures and the way they can be sculpted around the body.” There was plenty of Ilincic’s signature cocktailwear, including a parade of killer charmeuse dresses in deep olive green, raspberry and smoke blue. A highlight was a pale pink charmeuse tunic that fanned into an air-filled cape at the back to a stunning strapless oyster silk column with a sculptural asymmetric peplum. But she developed her day wear, too, showing a beautiful charcoal jersey dress draped elegantly across the body, and a series of clean-cut shift dresses in black bouclé and charcoal wool. Some tailoring came heavily embellished with crystals and beading. On a lighter note were the sheer flesh-toned voile blouses and fluid pants, all of which were topped off with sumptuous fur stoles and gilets – perfect for a well-heeled New York city girl.
Report by CLARE COULSON











