Regarded as a seedbed of emerging fashion talent, London sprouted some exciting new collections yesterday and the hottest ticket in town was for that of Christopher Kane, a 24-year-old Scot being hailed as the new Alexander McQueen. Deirdre McQuillan reports from London
Barely nine months out of the fashion nursery that is Central St Martins, the award-winning young designer has already become a consultant for Donatella Versace and picked up celebrity clients like Naomi Campbell and Sophie Dahl. Last Monday, his capsule diffusion line for Topshop in Oxford Street sold out within an hour.
The show in Covent Garden, his second since his debut last season, was packed with international press and a front-row line-up that included Manolo Blahnik, who designed the shoes, making a rare appearance with his sister. Controlled and superbly crafted in leather, velvet and crystal mesh, this certainly proved his reputation as a rising new fashion star.
The jewelling of the collection with huge rhinestone rocks was bold and imaginative. Flouncy little black leather dresses and coats were trimmed with leather ammunition belting on collars and cuffs, a recurring motif that gave the whole show a unity of style and tough elegance. A denim blue velvet jacket with crystal buttons reflected the cut glass glamour and modernity of the whole collection.
A rock star spirit also pervaded the collection of Todd Lynn, a young Canadian tailor who worked as a pattern cutter with Roland Mouret of Galaxy dress fame before setting up his own menswear collection. His show, which skilfully translated formal menswear into sexy female wear, was a mixture of the conventional and the unconventional. Grey suits had tight, waiter-style jackets, a highwayman coat with wing collars and super-skinny trousers looked flamboyant on a red-haired model, but the flash of a bomber jacket in blue metallic leather added a cheeky note. U2 are big fans.
Tailoring with a twist has always been the familiar signature of Sir Paul Smith, who still remains the UK's most successful designer. His characteristic offhand elegance showed in a polished winter collection with slouchy cardigans, drainpipe tweeds and chunky cable knits. The black silk and velvet wrap dresses seemed designed for the more curvaceous figure, a nod to the current debate about size zeros on the catwalk.