Tattoos: Make your mark

Instead, all eyes and cameras were fixed on her revealing black backless dress which from behind offered a tantalising view of her latest masterpiece.

Although all that could be seen of her new tattoo - some newspapers branded it a "tramp stamp" - was a swirl of pattern and rich colours snaking round an existing butterfly, a nation of mums probably took a deep breath and waited for the inevitable dispute with their teenage daughter over whether a tattoo really is the best means of self expression.

Certainly tattoos have undergone a metamorphosis in recent years, agrees artist Brooke MacKay-Brock, 30, owner of Newington Road studio Love Hate.

"Our customers are 50-50 men, women," she says. "Sometimes women are just looking for a flower or something small, but there are definitely more going for much bigger pieces than before.

"They might want something fairly large across their back, a sleeve or half sleeve on their arm or something across their thigh.

"If you're going for something like that, you've usually thought it through fairly carefully - it's not something people can really do on a whim."

The trend for ever-larger tattoos is, she believes, mostly fuelled by celebrities such as Cole - who sports tattoos on her hand, thigh, an unfortunate 'Mrs C' on the back of her neck and now an extended butterfly tattoo on her lower back - footballer David Beckham and cult TV reality show Miami Ink.

The programme has, believes Brooke, helped steered a trend among tattoo fans towards Japanese-style art - Koi carps, dragons, Japanese blossom and Oriental symbols are among the most popular requests.

"But there's so many people now with Koi, that some are saying 'everyone's got a Koi, what else can we get?', so the designs are becoming more lavish."

It's all a very long way from the old "Love Hate" knuckle tattoos from which the studio she owns takes its name.

For while tattoos were once basic black ink which faded to blue and often simple designs, the vast array of pigments now available for the artist's palate has transformed tattooing into a dazzling form of art.

That's partly down to Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins, a lifelong tattoo artist who, had he lived, would have turned 100 last month.A rough and ready US sailor, he pioneered a new style of tattoo art by hugely expanding the range of colours and creating needle formations that meant less trauma.

He was among the first to introduce hospital-quality sterilisation, while this keen eye meant he created tattoos of more intricate detail than many before had attempted.

Today, Brooke and many artists like her draw out their designs and create stencils to give clients a clear idea of what they can expect. For some clients looking for large tattoos, it can mean several trips to the studio - and sometimes thousands of pounds in fees.

"I don't know if people get addicted, but some certainly seem to really enjoy it," adds Brooke. "One client came in recently for two full sleeves and a full chest tattoo, which he had over just six or seven sessions. You could see how much more confident he was after it had been done."

But while the nation's tattoo addiction shows no sign of abating, there's a curious offshoot to this love affair with ink.

For business is also booming for Love Hate's laser tattoo removal service.

"So many people are looking to have names of exes removed or they've had a tattoo done by someone at home and it's gone wrong," says Brooke. "To be honest, I actually do more removals than actual tattoos!"

Love Hate Tattoo Studio, 59 Newington Road, www.love hatetattoo.co.uk