LFW Men

THE menswear shows pulled in quite the front row crowd yesterday as London Fashion Weekcame to a close, following a week of catwalk collections and presentations.

Kate Moss took to the front row of James Small's show (as had been the rumour), while Billie Piper sat front row at Wintle and Janet Jackson took her seat at A Child of the Jago - where she promptly got snapped with Vivienne Westwood. The show was quite the family affair with Ben Westwood, brother of Joe Corre (one half of the Jago label with Simon Armitage), taking to the catwalk.

Meanwhile, having received NEWGEN sponsorship for their shows this season, Carolyn Massey, James Long, J.W Anderson and Christopher Shannon gave us looks that ranged from preppy (Massey), to pixelated paisley sportswear (Shannon), and gorgeous coats and jumpers that girlfriends will want to steal (Long).

At the MAN show, we saw neon and acid brights on urban anoraks, parkas and belted trenchcoats, as well as punk-gothic leather looks and ensembles that incorporated drums for headwear and drumsticks for neckwear.
LFW Men

Meeting Ms Herrera

DESIGNER Carolina Herrera knows a thing or two about style. She was named in numerous best dressed lists throughout the Seventies and Eighties, has dressed stylish women through the years - from Renée Zellweger to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
"I've worked with so many amazing women - I've been dressing Renée for 10 years now," Herrera exclaimed - adding that Zellweger had alerted her to the anniversary at their last meeting. "What these stylish women all have in common is the knowledge of what looks well on them; the knowledge of herself. The influence of Jackie's style can still be seen now on the catwalks, every designer shows a look inspired by her. She was very classic, but with a modern twist. I love Cate Blanchett's style too - and Kristin Scott Thomas - they are both so chic."
On the subject of stylish and chic, Herrera was in London for the launch of her first ever UK store - CH by Carolina Herrera on Mount Street in London - and she is delighted to finally have an outlet on her favourite London shopping street.
"We waited a long time to find just the right spot," she explained. "I like that it's a new place - Mount Street has become a destination in the same way that South Molton Street did and it's great to be in this landmark building. We've left as much as possible untouched; the brickwork, the staircase - so it's quite different from my other CH stores - but it has the same relaxed feeling, like you could stop and have a cup of tea. I'm really happy with the result."
The CH by Carolina Herrera store is open now on Mount Street carrying the CH collection of men's and women's ready to wear, childrenswear (designed by Herrera's daughter Carolina), accessories, footwear and lifestyle products.

Meeting Ms Herrera

Diamond Partners

"THAT was hot, I can hardly speak - I need an ice pack to cool down," said Christopher Kane when we caught up with him just after the Versace show in Milan tonight.

"I love that she really vamped it up, the mirrored leather was amazing and the patchwork leather trousers were beyond. And that yellow dress was gorgeous too - and the black one at the end with the split skirt, it was all amazing."

In Milan to support Donatella and to present his latest collection for her Versus line on Sunday night, Kane is excited about showing it off. "It's more me this time," he says. "Though there are of course still touches of Donatella."

Wearing top to toe black himself with a subtle diamond pendant sparkling at his throat ("it's an evil eye to keep away evil spirits," he told us), Kane was sitting next to his sister Tammy who was also sporting a diamond - on the third finger of her left hand having just got engaged - and as many people were as keen to give her a congratulatory hug as they were to toast Christopher's latest collection.

"I'm glad you liked it, thank you," he said. "It's such a short season, it makes it really hard to do as much as you want to do - but I liked that this one was a little bit raunchy. You can't really go wrong with tight leather."

So now that he's established such a name for himself, does he feel pressure to be influenced by the Versace collection when he creates Versus?

"I don't really get involved with the Versace team at all," he says. "They do such a great job here, and I just sort of get on with my own thing at Versus. But I really really love working with Donatella," he added, having been just been blown a kiss by the designer as she took her bow after the show. "She's such a laugh to be around, I love her."

Diamond Partners

Milan Arrivals

NEWS JUST IN - David Beckham and Lindsay Lohan are in town - but no sightings as yet...Clive Owen provided some catwalk distraction turning up as he did at Giorgio Armani...While Avatar's Zoe Saldana sat front row at MaxMara - where she promptly got mobbed by photographers when trying to leave the show...Chris and Tammy Kane at Versace where it was all about flashes of flesh - think dramatic slashes and short, short skirts...

Leading us into the weekend's shows was DSquared yesterday morning. The twin designers took us to their sartorial laboratory with a dramatic show that incorporated jewelled spinal columns and Matrix-tight little black dresses, bursts of blood red and cobweb layers.

At Alberta Ferretti, things were mor e serene with signature pretty dresses and coats to swoon over, while at Gianfranco Ferre it was all about leather and at Versace, high shine glamour via mirror leather and patchwork minidresses.

It was a masculine versus feminine story at Bottega Veneta with leather leggings and teddy bear fur coats, while MaxMara put its coats at the top of our winter shopping lists and Giorgio Armani gave us glamour on the catwalk - and Clive Owen off the catwalk.

A sunny Thursday in Milan saw the schedule get off to a sterling start with several designers providing just what we hoped we would see from them, in the very first day. Miuccia Prada gave us a run down of the looks we love her for; Fifties and Sixties-inspired A-line trapeze skirts, prim fitted tops, and swinging Princess coats were styled with cable-knit socks and perfect beehives. No one does prim and polished (with an edge), like Mrs Prada (see all the show pictures here).

Roberto Cavalli's overtly sexy Just Cavalli girls were punks this season; with mismatched prints, fluffy tutus and ankle boots all balanced with a good helping of Swarovski sparkle to ensure they stayed on the pretty side of rebellious. The D&G duo followed their snowboarding-inspired menswear collection earlier this month with a similarly cosy (if less covered up), collection for their snow bunny girls, comprising knee-high shaggy fur boots, nubbly knit hotpants or rompers and matching cropped sweaters featuring cute reindeer prints.

Following spring/summer 2010's wispy white collection, Lagerfeld's Fendi offering was softer still for autumn/winter; with tactile furs, waffled silks and suedes complemented by a warm palette of burnished autumn shades including honey, grey and mustard.

SEE ALL THE ACTION FROM MILAN

Tonight Gucci and Moschino take to the catwalk, while tomorrow we'll see the likes of Marni, Dolce & Gabbana, Roberto Cavalli and Missoni. Christopher Kane brings the week to a close on Sunday night, showing his second ready-to-wear offering for Versus before the crowd head from Milan to the City of Light for the last leg of the international collections in Paris.

Milan Arrivals