Congratulations to the Michel Ambers label, which this season celebrates a quarter-century in business, marked by a show of the new spring/summer collection last week. As has been the case for the past 20 years, the clothes were designed by Greta Scotland and showed her fondness for long, lean lines.

The best pieces, therefore, were those which accentuated height, such as the wide range of duster coats which cropped up like a leitmotif throughout the show. These included a full-length double-breasted version in sky blue linen mix (£169.95) and a three-button single-breasted example in indigo blue, its waistline lightly darted and with a single vent at the rear (£249.95).

The latter was part of a dark blue sequence in which many pieces carried a broad silver Mogul print - on the base of pencil pants (£89.95), across the shoulders of a collarless jacket (£169.95) and around the hem of a long skirt (£79.95). These ankle-skimming skirts were another persistent feature in the collection and looked terrific with either the full-length coats or with extra-long loose over-shirts (in taupe-hued printed georgette, £99.95).

Alternatively, they could be teamed with a number of Japanese-inspired items such as a roll-collared jacket in black wool that tied across the body with a wide chrome twist (£164.95) or a kimono-style tie-belted jacket in the same fabric and colour (£164.95). The slightly cropped and pleated wool trousers (£89.95) and drawstring printed georgette palazzo pants (£69.95) were two other successes.

Michel Ambers is a successful commercial company with over 100 accounts in this country and double that number in the UK. Inevitably, therefore, every collection features a large selection of garments which will appeal to the broadest market possible. Among such items in the current range are substantial numbers of coat-and-skirt and jacket-and-dress combinations in shades of pink and ivory; skirt lengths here are considerably shorter than is fashionable at the moment, stopping several inches above the knee.

While the least interesting, these are probably the company's best-selling lines thanks to their keen pricing and relative conservatism. But they are by no means the full story at Michel Ambers; the fashion-conscious shopper, by carefully picking through what is on offer this season, will find plenty to enhance her wardrobe without spending a fortune.