Latest fashion trends and new season wears

WHAT TO WEAR: NEW SEASON

Jewel box colours and 60s silhouettes are two of the biggest trends for A/W'11. So why wait until September to flash your fashion-forward credentials? Pep up your summer palette with some tone on tone clashing (try mustard and tangerine with an offbeat burst of jade green for starters), as seen on the catwalks of London Fashion Week faves Acne and Jaeger London. Your Mod reference comes in the form of an A-line miniskirt and a knee-high boot (but worn with bare legs - it is still Summer after all) and no A/W'11 look would be complete without a ladylike handbag nonchalantly clamped under the crook of your arm, la Prada.

SWEETNESS N LIGHT


Eye for fashion
Fans of romantic fashion are well placed for sartorial success among the candied sweetness of the S/S'11 catwalks, where light silks, taffetas and chiffons mingled with pretty lace, crystal embellishment and florals. At Chanel, dancer skirts, feathers and lashings of jewellery combined to sugary effect, but were pulled back from the brink of ladylike refinement with slick leather leggings, bold accessories and slashed fabrics. Mulberry rescued Peter Pan collars and floral appliqu茅 from the realm of saccharine with studded ankle boots, while Julien MacDonald added some spice to proceedings by slashing the fronts of his dresses dangerously short, leaving the back trailing like kites dancing in the wind.

PLEAT YOURSELF

It was a bolt out of the blue, but pleats have shrugged off their girly image and become, wait for it.... officially cool. This is good news indeed because on a warm summers evening they make a glamorous and comfortable companion, especially the sweeping maxi and midi plisse styles seen at Haider Ackermann and Chloe. For off-duty days turn to Jonathan Saunders who serves up lingeire wholesale a venerable master-class in preppy chic, using classic crisp box-folds; while at Christopher Kane knife tucks were given the neon and printed treatment. Don't feel you must restrict your styling urges to skirts and dresses though. As Richard Nicoll and Max Mara demonstrated perfectly, the billowing movement that pleats allow makes them perfect for capes and wide trousers too.