Financial worries are a constant headache for young ambitious designers, as recently highlighted by the liquidation by Hussein Chalayan, former British designer of the year. However, one young designer couldn't hide his delight when he took his bow yesterday at the end of his show. Scott Henshall has just sold a majority stake in his label to Club 21, a business owned by Christina Ong, who also has business ties with designers such as Giorgio Armani. Henshall unveiled his autumn collection, with dollar and euro signs featuring prominently.
His show was a display of cheeky fun and games, from the sparkly monetary symbols to the letter puzzle and crossword prints on velvet and wool, spelling out words like fashion, fun, food and sale.
Nicole Farhi continues to produce excellent contemporary classics. Picking up on the butch chic vibe, she showed lots of black and lots of leather.
Husband-and-wife team Suzanne Clements and Inacio Ribeiro are two of London's most directional designers. For autumn, the high street will pick up on the striped T-shirts with stencil motifs and the sportswear details on their tailoring.
Clements Ribeiro underplayed their hand with just a re-embroidered check design for skirts and a retro-geometric print for filmy chiffon shirts breaking up a quiet collection.