Spring fashion: Get the lowdown on next year’s hottest new trends, fresh from the shows

LONDON Fashion Week came to a close in climactic style last week. One of the ‘moments’ was surely milliner Philip Treacy’s show, which featured Lady Gaga on the catwalk, clothes from Michael Jackson’s wardrobe and a front row that included Kim Cattrall, Bryan Ferry, Dita Von Teese and Grace Jones. Apparently there were hats too.

While the fashion pack has now moved on to Milan, leaving tattered copies of LFW Daily, black coffee cups and endless cigarette stubs in their wake, it’s worth reflecting on the major trends to emerge from London and, before it, New York for spring/summer 2013.

The Big Apple brought colour and texture to the fore, with tunic tops, loose, flowing trousers, billowing dresses and floppy hats replacing the familiar power dressing the city is so synonymous with.

Flats (shock!) took over from heels at Marc Jacobs, Carolina Herrera and Tory Burch, and generally there was a more relaxed feel than of late. Shirt dresses in washed-out colours at Donna Karan were a key look. We even saw dungarees (why, oh why?) at 3.1 Phillip Lim. But mainly the city played things safe.

London, true to form, was appropriately cool and playful. It’s what it has become famous for. Back in July, it hosted its first Menswear Collections, giving chaps a three-day event in their own right, as opposed to tacking a few suits on at the end of the schedule. There were bold colours at Oliver Spencer and fishing hats and a neon pink trench alongside more traditional tailoring at E Tautz. Katie Eary, meanwhile, upped the glamour quotient with opulent gold suiting with a rococo twist, and JW Anderson broke the mould with wide-leg floral trousers and smoke tops. Yes, for men.

For women, we saw the requisite clashing prints from Louise Gray, Clements Ribeiro, Preen and Mary Katrantzou, and a 1990s club theme from House of Holland with dip-dyed dungarees (again) and a jumbo plaid trouser suit.

Waists continued to rise – as seen at Paul Smith. And peplums are here to stay, if Osman and Antonio Berardi are anything to go by. Jonathan Saunders brought us metallic A-line skirt, nude sweaters and sequin dresses with contrasting knitted backs – very practical for anyone who has to sit down.

Erdem’s exquisite florals and flock wallpaper prints went neon and seduced an audience that included Anna Wintour and Alexa Chung – despite a power cut halfway through. And Christopher Kane came over all Frankenstein with a triumphant collection that included perspex nuts and bolts, gaffer tape and T-shirts featuring the monster himself. There was lace, organza and biker jackets, and sherbert-lemon frocks with necklines slashed to the navel. Wearable? Not sure. But in these austere times, it proves that fashion lives to fight another day.