What a week it’s been, six days and 107 shows with rants, raves and even redundancies, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. So, before I go off to hibernate for 6 weeks (and then do it all over again) here I present you the Official Kalimocho London Fashion Week awards – from the best show to the funkiest soundtrack.

THE AWARDS
Drum roll please...

BEST SHOW: Burberry

It might sound predictable but those lucky enough to have attended the show will understand why Burberry wins this award. Attracting a star-studded audience, the return of Christopher Bailey on the British catwalks was triumphant. Sending models down the runways in a swirl of pastel pink, lavender, beige, gold and silver, the mac was back after having a nip and tuck treatment, while micro-minis and sequinned dresses shone out at the audience. Not abandoning Burberry’s military roots, cavalry belts, high-heeled combat boots and criss-cross knotted tops also stood out as popular pieces.

MOST OUTRAGEOUS COLLECTION: Jeremy Scott

Tougher than you might think, there were several shows in the running for this award, a close contender was Marko Milano who presented an S&M-meets-Edward-Scissorhands style collection (think lots of leather and hair like antlers) and KTZ whose eccentricity shone through via the kaleidoscopic prints and OTT branding, but at the end of the day, they were pipped at the post by Jeremy Scott’s in-your-face Flinstone themed ensembles. At a time of recent economic uncertainty, he certainly put the fun back into fashion.

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER: Yelena Smirnova

One of the four finalists at Fashion Fringe, despite not winning, Smirnova’s collection, entitled ‘Metamorphosis of Love’, definitely won over the hearts of the front row fashionistas. Merging together soft silks, netting and floating fabrics with sharp cuts and strong shapes, the bold cherry reds, hot pinks and cobalt blue evoked passion, while the pretty peaches, nudes and greys stirred up feelings of femininity. Wonderfully wearable with top-notch tailoring, I wouldn’t be surprised to see her collections gracing the main catwalks in seasons to come.

BEST SOUNDTRACK: Paul Costelloe

There was the chorus of gospel singers at Christopher Kane, a violin version of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and the classic ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ at Ones to Watch. Steel drums provided the music to Paul Smith and an edgy Hoxton Square soundtrack accompanied House of Holland, but the playlist that stuck out for me was at Paul Costelloe. Opening with Vera Lynn’s ‘White Cliffs of Dover’ before merging into Calvin Harris’s ‘The Girls and Electro Man’, maybe it was because it was the opening show or just because I knew the lyrics, but in my eyes it was definitely a winner.

MOST TALKED ABOUT: Mark Fast and the plus size debate

As if the collections weren’t enough to discuss, hot topics included the homecoming of Matthew Williamson, Burberry Prorsum, Pringle of Scotland, Jonathan Saunders and Antonio Berardi; the arrival of Anna Wintour; Naomi Campbell strutting her stuff at Issa; the first all black model line-up at PPQ and of course, the controversial size debate at Mark Fast. Always guaranteed to crop up when miniscule models are thrust in front of our faces, when Mark Fast decided to showcase his collection on size 14 models, his stylist walked out (though some say fired) protesting that the plus-sized models’ walks just weren’t right. Controversial? In a multitude of ways.

MOST STAR-STUDDED SHOW: Burberry

Yes I know they’ve won an award already, but you can’t deny that that the glitterati were out in force at the Burberry show. Emma Watson (the face of Burberry) flew in especially for it, then there was Gwyneth, Liv Tyler, Mary-Kate Olsen, Victoria Beckham, Agyness Deyn, Twiggy, Freida Pinto...the list goes on. Elsewhere Nicola Roberts was proving her fashion’s worth, wearing pearls and tweed one day and a cute leather jacket the next (although I can’t say I was loving her attire at Vivienne Westwood Red Label – it was a tad too dress-up for me), and as always Alexa Chung was doing the fashion rounds, not that Anna Wintour looked too impressed when she was seated next to her at Twenty8Twelve. The coolest front row calibre, however, has to go to Ashish and House of Holland – the latter attracting Little Boots, Estelle and of course, Agy Dean, while VV Brown, Roisin Murphy, Paloma Faith and Michelle Williams were all snapped at Ashish.

Meanwhile, on the highstreet...
Read on to find out trends I think will translate to the highstreet...