Runway success: What Scottish designers did at London Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2012

CHRISTOPHER KANE

Easily now London’s most globally influential designer, Kane once again set the tone with his AW12 show. And that tone is any member of the purple family. Shown on a lavender carpet, Kane’s line up of darkly-elegant cyber-goth pieces in watermarked silk, leather and velvet ran the spectrum from lavender through mauve to deepest indigo. His trademark grown-up shapes anchored the looks firmly in the realms of the wearable; shift dresses hovered around the knee, while Victoriana-style floral-printed plum pieces were tempered by chunky lilac knits, and polo necks were teamed with pencil skirts. His customary successful blend of the sleek and tough yet undeniably feminine was on show, and yet again Kane has shown us what we all want to be wearing, before we knew it ourselves. As always, his aesthetic will filter down and you’ll find yourself choosing leather-trimmed and purple pieces without even realising why.

LOUISE GRAY

The Alice in Wonderland of London Fashion Week just gets better and better the further down the rabbit hole she descends. Her triumphant AW12 collection will not only delight fans, but will also undoubtedly win her new ones. Like a cultural kaleidoscope, you can look at Gray’s line-up and never see the same thing twice; a foil for each viewer’s aesthetic markers, this collection spoke of Xanadu, David Bowie, Peter Pan’s Lost Boys, 80s club kids and 90s raves, Studio 54, Keith Haring, Courtney Love, geishas, Flock of Seagulls, vintage video games and Quality Street wrappers all at once. Layer upon layer of riotous prints – zig zags, vortexes, Batman logos, pixels and QR codes – crashed into a rainbow of sky blue, fuchsia, silver, banana yellow, minty green, pillar-box red, metallic rose, racing green, lilac, mauve and khaki. But dissect each exuberantly bonkers muddle and there were gloriously wearable separates in there that you can make your own; drop-waisted and fit-and-flare dresses, jumpsuits, bubble skirts, tailored trousers and cropped round-neck jackets. This season Gray came into her own with a collection that was fresh, modern and so wildly inspiring that I’m already dying to see what she does next.

HOLLY FULTON

This season as ever the Edinburgh designer was dancing to her own rhythm, but she could do with some new moves. Her signature Art Deco graphics (this time with a touch of the Geiger, as well as Oriental influences seen in the cherry blossom-esque butterflies peeking out from between Chrysler Building-redolent lines) were present, as were her customary off-kilter candy colours tempered with black. The deliberately limited palette was a distinctly (and admittedly refreshingly) un-wintry one of sugary pink, fuchsia, turquoise and cobalt, but this was no surprise from Fulton, and this collection was very much lacking in the unexpected. Similarly, Fulton’s shapes were appealingly sharp – polo necks, large-shouldered long-line single-breasted silk blazers, shift dresses, twin sets and pencil skirts – but her 60s Jackie O look now feels predictable. Even her dementedly furry accessories, that once added witty lightness, now look a little tired on their return. Her bold aesthetic has always been polarising, but this collection was well-trod territory from Fulton and looked somewhat stale as a result.

JONATHAN SAUNDERS

Saunders produced one of the standout London collections of the season, striking the perfect balance between the polished and the youthful, the simple and the decorative. Elegant, tailored separates with an equestrian feel, easily assimilated into any wardrobe, were the key; high-waisted slim-cut silk trousers in jewel tones of emerald and burgundy with incredible depth; swing coats in burnt orange, digital tweed-effect blazers and dresses in a radiant heather grey, and wearable winter dresses in universally flattering fit-and-flare shapes in mossy green heavy silk. His collection was utterly covetable and the one we want to be wearing for years to come.