London's edge

The first day of London Fashion Week was like a shot in the arm for fashion edge. Thank God for the creative and bubbling talent pool that is here, season by season quickly gathering pace. Topshop has a lot to do with this feel good factor with its New Gen sponsorship programme and in-store events to celebrate it's chosen few. The retailer's Two One Four publication is a way of reading all about LFW through the buyers' eyes. Meanwhile LFW's Daily Rubbish publication has grown up into a more quality read: The Daily.

Topshop's Unique show kicked off the week ahead celebrating leftfield design with a fun and notably younger collection styled by Katie Grand and full of the joys of "the faded glory of archetypal British seaside towns and celebrated teenage rebels who roam the arcades and piers". A British thing with some fun gambling edge connotations - Lucky 7 motifs and hearts and diamonds print patterns across New Romantic style structured pieces. Zippered grey suede dresses and hard-edged stone-washed denim or jersey shoulder pads reigned supreme elsewhere.

Amy Molineux one half of design duo for PPQ said the Le Style Anglais collection was based on geometries and creating a print signature for the label which is known for its party dresses. She said the stories ranged from Hector - "your flared and fluid best friend, easy pieces in Gi styles, 50s and 70s dresses" or Rhombus - "the square group tilted towards nautical niceness" or Zeladon - "tighter than tight, showing the natural angles of your body". Actually she said they had so many new ideas they couldn't decide what to pick, so they stuck them all on the runway to let other people decide!

Caren Downie, fashion director at on-line retailer ASOS says she loves PPQ and sales are great for the label on the site. "I love the irreverent party mood of PPQ collections - Amy and Percy just let their hair down - and their fans love them for it. They have lots of energy with the label and it shows."

Ann Sofie Back looked to have had a commercial moment when designing her SS09 09 collection - using plastic surgery and liposuction as unlikely points of reference. Jail-bird chic was more like it with kooky black and white jersey stripe dresses, more great sharp lines from oversized boyfriend jackets and razer sharp labels and those navy fringes on suede jackets and dresses. Swing out sister! Loving the bling decorated sunglasses - adding a whole new DIY accessorising moment.



And as for Peter Jenson I loved the all over red gingham preppy outfitting and slightly nautical slightly floral jacquard prints but with the collection based on Jodie Foster's movies we kinda like the idea - shame about the execution. "