A little of London Fashion Week's familiar buzz and excitement returned to the catwalk yesterday with Fake London's spring collection.
Martine McCutcheon, Sophie Ellis Bextor and Melanie Blatt were in the front row to watch Jodie Kidd and Liberty Ross don rock chick sunglasses, coloured hair and loads of attitude.
Fake London displays an irreverent attitude towards British traditions. Spanish designer Desiree Mejer recycles and customises cashmere, usually with elements of the Union Jack flag involved, mixed up with a fuzzy felt Letraset of numbers and letters, and motifs of her pet Staffordshire Bull terrier. The terrier took a particular fancy to a pug sitting with its owner in the audience much to the consternation of the model dragging it down the catwalk.
California surfwear and a Beach Boys soundtrack gave a new twist to cashmere knitted tank tops, chopped and stitched together like wetsuits in bright blocks of colour. Desiree is a great fan of Barcelona football club so the "Barca" colours of maroon and dark blue featured strongly in both cashmere and stretch lace football terrace tops.
Mejer's irreverence to her adopted country continued with the logo of "By appointment to her gracious majesty the Queen The Fake London" - fake, of course. Just as well the British can take a joke. No joking matter though were the guerrilla-inspired combat jackets and skinny trousers loaded with strappy details. A very politically incorrect moment for London fashion.
By contrast the Ghost collection was preaching "peace and love", embroidered on a rainbow coloured tulle dress that closed their show. Tanya Sarne and her new designer Amy Roberts, ex-John Galliano, led us up the garden path - tall grass and daisies lined the catwalk - with a pretty collection of ditsy Liberty print floral dresses and aertex crepe tailoring.
In an ice cream palette of mint, lemon, pink and lilac bias-cut tulle and georgette dresses, frilly crepe camisoles and little pedal-pusher pants emerged, followed by great-looking gladiator tunic dresses and languid evening pyjama suits. Romance enveloped every embroidered asymmetric dress, camisole top and cotton baby doll. It was the ultimate sugar and spice.
The collection was aimed at the girl that is in every woman and the little sweetheart necklines edged in frills, the cap sleeves and embroidered skirts all endorsed the new trend for naive, innocent looks coming out of London this week.
Sweetest of all were the girlish Liberty print mini-crinis worn with little cardigans. Great for eight-year-olds but hardly practical for grown-ups.