Basso and Brooke capsule collection for The Cambridge Satchel Company

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Basso and Brooke does a capsule collection for the Cambridge Satchel Company at London Fashion Week.

This moment will go down in history as the most zany and irresistable collision of two very up-to-the-minute brands.

It's headed straight to the top of my 2012 Christmas list.

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Topshop Unique A/W 2012

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I think, as a British teenager, and in terms of fashion shows, the most immediately relevant label for me has to be Topshop Unique. It is the one label I can feasibly afford (just), but also the one which will directly influence everything else in the most popular shop in the country, and thus will influence everything I and my friends buy in about six months time.

If you didn't watch the live stream, you should probably do so now. It can be found here on their website, or here on their Facebook page.

If I had to sum up the collection in one word, it would be SLINKY. There are slinky-silky blouses, slinky-smooth midi skirts, slinky trouser suit and bralet combinations, a black jumpsuit which I could actually own and die happy knowing I was in possession of the most beautiful piece of clothing. I think I counted about one thick patterned knit in the whole collection, a huge step away from last season's jumpers-with-everything look. Watch the video and concentrate on the way that the materials seem to swim around the girls' bodies.

If I could add one more word to my summary, it would be LEGS. These aforementioned midi skirts are designed in such a way that one sashay of a model's leg and, well, pretty much everything is revealed. Couple these with pants-as-shorts, a fair amount of minidresses, and slinky pyjama-style trousers which serve to accentuate what one cannot see. Simple hair and plain makeup draw all the attention to the models' pins, clad in some pretty hefty (but none the less desirable) shoes.  I think the Topshop blog described them as 'stiletto creepers', which is pretty apt.

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I rather like this new collection, and can't wait to get my hands on some silk shirts (or wannabe-silk shirts, knowing my student budget). One drawback is that I won't be able to hide my post-Christmas belly under a thik woolly jumper, nor forget about exercise and cover my legs up with jeans. Though I guess this is Topshop Unique, so neither will anybody else.

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SS'12 (2) Fabulous London Fashion Week

I really am terribly behind with these posts, bear with me! Here are my choices from LFW - by choices I mean things that I would gladly wear from day to day, or bizarre outfits that somehow appeal to my inner madwoman (the one that would love to do her supermarket shop in a tartan three-piece suit)

Richard Nicoll; Burberry Prorsum

It seems block colours is still present on the catwalk, but the idea has shifted from solid colours on solid fabrics to easier-to-wear shades on chiffons and sheer materials. It's nice to see that pleat skirts made a reappearance at Burberry, while the Saturn-like rings at Richard Nicoll seem apt in the year of the Olympics...

Acne; Clements Ribiero; Christopher Kane; Clements Ribiero

Far more common than colour blocking was the introduction of prints at LFW. Here, designers have taken inspiration from nature, with tie-dye, flowers, shells all present (and CR on the far-right arranging his pattern in an interpretation of snake print). Yet these prints are far from soft and girly, the top and trousers suggests an androgynous defiance, and the slip of thigh at Christopher Kane references the sexuality of the miniskirt.

Kinder Aggugini; Ann-Sofie Back Atelje; Richard Nicoll

Texture and structuralism was again brought into play, with velvet, silk, sheer, leather and complex tailoring. Ann-Sofie Back Atelje was an incredibly exciting show, and on a personal note I would happily walk out the house in that Nicoll outfit! 

Jonathan Saunders, House of Holland, Paul Smith

Pastels carried on from NYFW, and were heavily plugged by both Saunders and Henry Holland. This blue and yellow midi dress seems like the most perfect ray of sunshine to complement a summer's day, practical enough for England's unpredictable weather yet cooling in the heat of the Mediterranean. I always love the variations on tartan that Holland comes up with, and the playful use of grunge mesh in a preppy polo top is genious. Paul Smith is always a favourite of mine, I find his clothes to die for: masculine yet impeccably tailored to complement the female body.

Temperley London, Giles, Meadham Kirchhoff, Mary Katrantzou

Lastly, enter my inner madwoman. This kimono-style two-piece from Temperley, complete with turban and sunnies, is extravagant and inspiring. Think Gloria Swanson from Sunset Boulevard (not Hailee Steinfeld for Miu Miu). If I was going to be on the red carpet any time soon, I would wear this from Giles-especially if I was Natalie Portman winning an Oscar for Black Swan! By the way, I bet you anything that swans and swan-related items will feature heavily on the high street in the coming months. This outfit by Meadham Kirchhoff is brilliant: part Tudor courtier, part '20s flapper, part burlesque star, part schoolgirl, part old cushion cover, every bit extraordinary. And I raved about my love for Mary Katrantzou in my first ever post, and I still love her crazy prints that really shouldn't work but somehow totally do!

photos from style.com

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