London Calling!

As autumn rolls around, so do Spring Summer fashion shows, designed to taunt you with lovely summery clothes that you won't be able to buy or wear for another six months. Luckily at London Fashion Week on Saturday Ben de Lisi was on hand to show a series of dresses no-one in their right mind would lust after, thus sparing the fashion pack from dramatic sighs and desperate attempts at time travel. Instead we sat happy in the knowledge that we have a full season of delicious winter tailoring ahead, all dark looks and 1940s styles, before we have to contend with what next spring apparently has to offer.

From just two shows seen so far -- Ben de Lisi and Eley Kishimoto, it seems safe to say that colour is back, in a big way. You know how the fall fashion issues of all the glossies triumphantly trumpeted the return to tailoring and an end to oversized smocks and babydoll dresses, no more footless tights and back to body con? Yeah, that's not going to last long -- the one saving grace of the return of the smock / tunic is that for next year, a touch of body con has carried over, so we're no longer looking at shapeless sack dresses: clever details in the cut, together with subtle pleats or darts, give a waist and silhouette to even the most oversized dress.

Okay, so spring and summer have always been about dresses anyway, but Eley Kishimoto's offerings last night, in their collection titled 'Village Fete', were predominantly loose smocks, oversize tunics worn with bubble-hemmed skirts, and flowing, voluminous fabrics. All in eye-watering prints - a touch of leftover nu rave seemed to have influenced some of the dresses, with fabrics printed in giant chain designs in hot pink and neon green; whilst others were straight of 1970s Laura Ashley-ville (but in a cute way). The florals worked best -- everything from a wartime kind of print reminiscent of winceyette pyjamas, to flocked wallpaper styles -- as anything in neon right now just seems so wrong.

Ben de Lisi meanwhile seemed convinced that what we all want to wear is a long-sleeved all-over-sequinned horizontal rainbow striped dress, which makes me wince to type - imagine looking at the thing. There were also one too many minidresses adorned with giant sequin discs, a look last seen in Austin Powers, where it should have stayed. (I'm not this designer's biggest fan.)

But off the catwalk, and in reality, most of the colours shown so far have been bright, but flattering, and nothing perks you up after winter like a pop of colour. Remember last winter's palette of grey and navy resulted in the neon explosion? Luckily this winter is less bland, with plums and muted jewel tones, so the necessary post-winter colour explosion is similarly muted -- it doesn't need to be neon to make its point.

So although Eley Kishimoto did show those pink/green dresses, the real stand-out pieces were in chocolate brown silk, dove grey polka dots, mustard or rose pink prints, or a classic 1970s orange/chocolate/blue floral -- think your granny's tea-tray and you're close:



Looks from Eley Kishimoto S/S 2008 catwalk show (top row), and (bottom row) Ben de Lisi S/S 2008 catwalk show, both at the BFC tent at London Fashion Week.

I actually really adore the Eley Kishimoto stuff -- it's cutesy yet quirky in that slightly Luella way, I think. They really got it spot on with their show title -- it is very village fete. Those old-fashioned florals make me want to get my baking on and win a rosette (something they adorned some of the dresses with!), but there are enough modern twists to make it clothing not costume. I especially like the way they play with volume and silhouette to almost reverse-emphasise the waist: the bubble/gathered hem on most of the skirts plus the tunics that kick-flare at the waist creates an unusual apple silhouette, emphasising legs and shoulders as body con and leaving the torso uncluttered.

More updates live from London Fashion Week until Thursday; right now I'm off to John Rocha and later Basso & Brooke.