London Fashion Week: As London Fashion Week drew to a close yesterday, there was no doubt that British fashion has lost its power to shock. Deirdre McQuillan reports from London.
The old rebellious element has disappeared and the forlorn relics of punk - like slashed leather, corset lacing and chains - are now mere decorative details tamed for a new generation by designers in more temperate modern mood.
The warm, sunny weather that returned this week served to underline an optimistic spirit in fashion for next spring with printed chiffons, delicate dresses, candy-stripes, buttons and bows. It was soft, but not too sugary.
Even the wayward, wilful Katherine Hamnett showed a girlish side at her show held in a club near Notting Hill, and though the models in laced thigh garters (don't ask) brandished riding whips, prowled and snarled, the pussy cats ended up giggling helplessly with the audience.
There were short-sleeved garden party dresses in the sheerest of fabrics and the palest of colours, handsome slim white cotton jodhpurs and riding coats flaring from corset shaped seams.
Models in slippy, pin-tucked dresses, gypsy tops and wispy polka dot skirts flowed past Bob Geldof in a blur of billowing chiffon.
"You don't know what you're messin' with, boy," growled the singer. A procession of T -shirts with "Use a Condom" and "Save Africa, Make Trade Fair" slogans ended with the predicted entrance of Naomi Campbell reinforcing the point in black sequins.
Campbell also made an appearance earlier at Jasper Conran's show which looked to the African dress style of the Masai Mara for inspiration. Striking Op Art prints, big Afro hairdos and disc dresses that recalled Paco Rabanne evoked the 60s, so it was no surprise that Mary Quant and Jane Asher were both guests at the show.
Conran knows how to make frocks that flatter and this collection, in which he juggled effortlessly with circular prints, circular skirts and circular jewellery, was no exception.
Tobacco, ebony and cocoa colours stirred thoughts of savannah nights in this dramatic, beautiful and polished presentation.
His prints were anything but predatory in a week which brought home an extraordinary resurgence of colour and decoration in fabric not seen for a long time. Suzanne Clements and Inacio Ribeiro anticipated this trend a decade ago when they launched their first collection.
The successful duo now not only have their own labels but have transformed Cacharel in Paris since taking over as creative directors two years ago.
Their show was a tour de force, showing their flamboyant ability to mix all sorts of colours, patterns and stripes together and make them work alluringly. It was a heady blast of things to come and a fitting end to an upbeat week.