Not quite this crazy - Kane © planet of the apes - averageman

Christopher Kane has proved that inspiration knows no bounds, not least because the designer saw Planet of the Apes, The Flintstones and One Million Years B.C. and felt the bones (or should that be scales) of his next collection, which was surely one of the most yabadabadooo of London Fashion Week.

The distillate was the stegosaurus-style ‘scales’ in leather or organza, the gorilla print, marabou trims and the stone-age animal print. How such elements can produce both wearable and desirable women’s clothing is anyone’s guess, but Kane makes it work.

Although he has a strong creative partnership with his sister Tammy, even she said: “When he started saying ‘prehistoric’, I said ‘What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.’” But this evolved into a collection which conveyed exactly what he meant – business – both in the commercial sense of pleasing his customers, and in the artistic sense of pursing an idea. I probably wouldn’t go to Kane for everyday women’s fashion advice though …

Rated: from 2317 votes

Short Adidas © Stella McCartney

When I look back on my sporting career I realise that it was not my lack of co-ordination or athleticism that hampered me, nor my phobia of sudden or sustained movement. It wasn’t the fizzy cola bottles over slow-release energy bars either. It was the uniform. At school, an aertex t shirt and a pleated gym skirt was the sports kit, and as much as I’d have liked it to be Adidas by Stella McCartney it wouldn’t have helped me win the egg-and-spoon race. These days I’m not so sure. It’s true what they say about exercise: you feel better for it, and you look better for it. But what about during it? That baggy old jogging bottoms and t shirt combo is no incentive to get your backside out of bed and into the gym. Women’s clothing is women’s clothing after all, and we want to look good. But ah, the high-tec slate grey leggings and slinky sports vest might even make me run faster; that impeccably cute lilac tennis dress with the neon pink trim might get me booking a coach and learning how to serve at last.

Adidas by Stella McCartney’s Spring collection took place at Linley Hall in Victoria in London Fashion week, and as well as the super toned models, Olympic athletes showcased the clothes and made light work of the high-performance fabrics. My only concern – and pretend I’m talking to myself here – is that a bulge is a bulge is a bulge is a bulge, and whether it’s encased in Stella or a stinky old mickey mouse t shirt, I don’t like it and it ain’t pretty.  Now where are those fizzy cola bottles…

Rated: from 2467 votes

Runway - Flickr © Peter Duhon

Inspired by the debate around London Fashion Week, the staff at www.womensboots.com, a leading footwear website, has compiled its list of Top Fashion Icons of the past century.

1. 1900s: Jeanne Lanvin
2. 1910s: Anna and Laura Tirocchi
3. 1920s: Coco Chanel
4. 1930s: Elsa Schiaparelli
5. 1940s: Christian Dior
6. 1950s: Marilyn Monroe
7. 1960s: Jackie Kennedy
8. 1970s: Valentino Garavani
9. 1980s: Princess Diana
10. 1990s: Anna Wintour

Which set me to work thinking about which noughties style icons would feature on the list today. But is the very word ‘icon’ too momentous a burden for one alone to carry for the whole decade. Or am I missing the point? Perhaps the industry has diversified so much that it is no longer appropriate to consider a single entity as the sum of its parts. First if you put the question to the woman or man in the street versus a fashion insider, and then again to a different demographic – Europe, the US, Russia – or even by city – London, Paris, NY – or age group – the answer(s) would surely vary.

In Liverpool there would be more Coleen McCloughlin votes than Paris (as in the city not the person) And what about Victoria Beckham? If the 90s choice of Anna Wintour was about power, is moneyed celebrity the new power of the 2000s? The popularity of women’s clothing fashionistas like Coleen and Posh reveals that it might be. Which begs the question, can true style really be bought these days? I’m sure Kate Moss would get a large share of the vote. Not only is she one of the most powerful women in fashion, she is a creative dresser with legions of copycat women’s clothing trends in her wake. Let the debate begin…

Rated: from 2419 votes