Vivienne Westwood

The highlight of London Fashion Week had to be the Vivienne Westwood A/W 08 collection for her off shoot brand Red Label. Queen Viv's triumphant return to London has been a long time coming, with 9 years since her last exhibit.

The dingy, almost dank shell of the Old Sorting Office on New Oxford Street was in contrast, the perfect venue to showcase such a vibrant collection. A star studded audience of Cuba Gooding Jr, Kelly Osborne, Erin O'Conner, David Walliams, Lily Allen and Hilary Alexander, were treated to manic circus sounds (Viv doesn't do things by halves) as 'supermodel of the future' Lily Donaldson opened the show, hotly followed by up and coming model, Miss Daisy Lowe.

Known for her high profile campaigning, Westwood used this opportunity to display her displeasure over the controversial Guantanamo Bay detainee camp aboard placards.

An originator of punk, this collection showed no care for rules with military, disco, silk screen art and the 70s as combined influences. Short, short dresses in russet browns and brick teamed with thigh high boots made for a sexy, striking look, whilst tartan skirts and trousers in blues, oranges and reds were certainly eye catching.

Accessories were as individual as their creator, with military style box caps, miniature purses, pvc studded belts and vintage inspired, cashmere floppy hats. Fabrics and patterning were married together in abundance with silk, dog-tooth, cashmere, tartan, wool, plaid, cotton, lace, crochet and lycra all used to dramatic effect.

Sublime craftsmanship coupled with over four decades of fashion expertise ensured that this was a show you would have been sorry to miss - it's almost impossible to choose highlights from this show as it truly epitomised the word 'collection' - Simply put, I want all of it.

Photography by Nick Stovey