John Rocha may be the lone voice of Ireland on the London catwalk this season, but there was no mistaking the heritage of his autumn collection, which he showed yesterday.
Fragile pieces of antique Irish lace frothing from an armhole or a sleeve; coils of fisherman's rope woven into braids and tied like a corsage on the waist and whimsical embroideries add to the handcrafted elements he so often employs in his collection.
"This is the culmination of what I have been doing for the last 21 years as a designer," said Rocha. "I have used handcrafted details in a modern way."
In a simple palette of ecru and black - "at the end of the day everyone buys black" - Rocha showed slim coats and fluttery translucent dresses that belled out at the hem, or simple satin dresses with gathered waists.
His ecru hand-knits were generous in proportion, contrasting with the weightlessness of his embroidered tulle skirts. He created a sweet, lyrical look which made it modern by mixing the antique with the toughness of black leather.
Paul Smith, now Sir Paul, and Britain's biggest fashion designer exporter, is so busy sometimes that research for his collections is often reduced to day trips to far-flung destinations with his trusty camera in his pocket. This season his destination must have been the Austrian Tyrol.
Small bunnies in little bobble hats, faux fur jackets and skintight ski pants needed only skis to complete the picture.
Smith was in nostalgic mood. It was not hard to imagine Bing belting out White Christmas on the soundtrack; instead we got sound-bytes of Eidleweiss from The Sound of Music. He probably unearthed vintage 1950s postcards in a souvenir shop and transposed the prints of reindeer, eidleweiss and romantic couples looking at a snowy mountain landscape on to silk shirts and skirts.
Eidleweiss sprouted as a motif, printed on breezy silk blouses, embroidered on knitwear and sparkling on a snow-white winter evening coat.
The 50s was a recurring theme with little fitted sweaters, skinny ski pants and gentle ladylike silk dresses with tiny furled collars. Corsets appeared in sexy, laced-back dresses; however, I think I'd give the padded corsets-cinching thick rib sweaters a miss next season. Matthew Williamson was in the vanguard of the boho-chic look of four years ago, but as fashion moves on, his aesthetic is changing. The beautiful dresses with their delicate embroideries are still there, but he has waffled it up a bit, tattering and shredding the fabrics.
He contrasts the deconstructed and distressed elements with sexy shirring on skirts to flash a bit more leg, or tuxedo jackets worn with just a neck-tie - accessorising with the unexpected such as leather or obi belts decorated with suede flowers.
Like Rocha, Williamson has an extraordinary feel for decoration, especially embroidery, and proves that there is still a place for it, even though the general mood is for tough chic.