This is the first time that Korean designer Doii Lee is showing at London Fashion Week and her show was arguably one of the prettiest, among a sea of asymmetric panel dresses.

Doii’s Autumn/Winter 10-11 collection was inspired by her favourite Russian fairytale, Babushka, and the folklore influences are present on all of the striking, bohemian pieces.

The first part of the collection was all about bold rose print dresses with translucent sequins, coats trimmed with white faux fur, rose covered headpieces and those shoes!  These gorgeous cherry red, platform courts with printed silk ankle-tie were awarded their own post on The Fashion Scout daily blog, as they really are just so stunning!

The models looked impossibly fresh, with tumbling curls, red lips, rosy cheeks and dewy skin – no slicked-back androids there!

The Doii Paris collection reminds me very much of Blumarine’s colour-bursting prints, Moschino’s bold romanticism and KENZO’s crafted, patchwork-inspired detailing.

The purpose of the digital prints is to tell a story and Doii does this with playing cards, winter landscapes, skulls and even bottles of wine.  It is a style also seen in Romeo Pires’ Spring/Summer 10 collection, which featured a collage of checkered flags, skeletons and apples.

The second part of the collection focused on an adorable coral, red and turquoise print depicting birds and monsters.  The whimsical print featured on very feminine and wearable trench coats, romantic ruffle dresses and a full-length gown.

Next up was more detailed, abstract digital prints in floaty silk dresses and an Eastern kimono-style shift dresses panelled with grey jersey.

Then came the lace – a delicate lace party dress with a structured bodice (very Daisy Lowe), a lace wool two-tone coat and a 50s minimal lace dress with bell sleeves and contrasting printed detailing.

Metallics also featured with this dainty drop-waisted, printed dress with soft-spun gold cuffs and waistband and translucent sequins. Wool coats also got the Doii treatment, with colourful fabric-covered buttons, polka dot lapels, faux fur trims and printed tie-belts.

The show culminated with a model dressed in a black fur and embroidered print coat with an oversized fringed bonnet – very elegant, old world Parisian.  I wonder if Doii took inspiration from that other stylish Parisian, the inimitable Diane Pernet, with her signature black veil…

Doii Lee graduated with BA Hons in Fashion Design and Knitwear from Central St Martins in 2002 and soon after started her career with John Galliano in Paris.  The next year, she was approached by Antoni Marras, the new art director at KENZO, and worked for KENZO Défilé Studio.

She presented the first collection of Doii Paris during Paris Fashion Week, October 2006 and is now based in London.  Doii’s work is so intricate, exquisitely tailored and optimistic, which is a real breath of fresh air this season!

* All photos by Chérie City

As Tavi smartly pointed out, she is about half the size of the average fashion ed/celeb and the offending bow was shot with holes. Would any editor dare to strip Diane Pernet of her signature raised veil? Non, pas du tout!  So really, the crux of the matter is that the teen fashion prodigy has fast-tracked her way to the privileges that editors have spent years trying to cultivating and maintain and surprisingly enough, they don’t like it!

Couture is an industry clawing on by its teeth, so it’s no surprise that designers are consciously trying to appeal to a younger market – hence Tavi at Dior, Lady Gaga sporting Armani Privé and Valentino’s woodland neon nymphs.

The direction of the house of Valentino has been somewhat vague since the departure of Valentino Garavani.  His second set of predecessors and former Valentino accessories designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli began their assault on a new look brand with their romantic, sculptural A/W 09 collection, but this season they’ve gone wild and thrown the rulebook to the wind.

Valentino’s elegant woman has put her prim little suit in storage and turned into a to a cyber partygirl with a new best mate, Alice Dellal.  Blush and nude shades are carried over from the Autumn/Winter ready-to-wear collection, but this time they’re set off with flashes of fluorescent pink and yellow and silver (with more than a nod to Pam Hogg’s panelled catsuits).

Underneath the neon and sparkle, there are whispers of classic Valentino, with beautiful draping, volume and embellishment, but the pair really stick the knife in with their interpretation of  the iconic ‘Valentino red dress’.  There are three red dresses in the collection, the most outrageous being a red leather mini dress with waves of leather ruffles.

The sheer visors and ‘exotic bird’ make-up seem to reference Avatar and the models certainly have an eco-warrior vibe.  This unashamed attempt to appeal to a younger, ‘new money’ crowd hasn’t gone unnoticed, and their new rock ‘n’ roll image has sent shockwaves through Valentino’s clique.

Valentino’s partner Giancarlo Giammetti labelled the collection a ‘ridiculous circus’ and told WWD that both he and Valentino “are always supportive of the designers of Valentino, even if we don’t approve of their effort to be cool at all costs.”

A polar opposite collection was John Galliano’s historical, equestrian collection that looked back to the work of Belle Epoque designer Charles Lamb, who was also the inspiration for Christian Dior’s New Look collection in 1947.

Galliano cracked the whip, as models were sent down the catwalk in Edwardian riding jackets with nipped-in waists and peplums, checked skirts with bustles and top hats with veils.  Next up was cocktail hour with the most beautiful jewel coloured, gathered chiffon skirts, embellished jackets, halter-neck bustier shirts and draped dresses in Duchesse satin.

For evening wear, it was all about the most incredible ball gowns and Galliano found inspiration with ‘The Gibson Girls’, the illustrated feminine ideals at the turn of the century.  There were delicately structured satin bodices with voluminous, sculptural skirts in exquisite fabrics and a colour palette including dusky pink, raspberry, petrol, mauve and ice blue.

You can tell that Galliano lives for creating couture and the colours, craftsmanship and historical references make his shows the most anticipated of all.  Suzy Menkes acknowledged the beauty and emotion of the collection, but suggested that “it would be a fine thing if Mr. Galliano could just once make the starting point of Dior couture not fashion’s sweet memories but a clean sheet of paper on which he writes 2010.”

It’s interesting that designers who have been at the helm of Valentino for just over two seasons should cut away from the house’s heritage so significantly, while Galliano, who has made Dior his own since his arrival in 1996, still references Christian Dior’s most prominent collections like an old friend.

With rejuvenated houses such as Balmain, Givenchy and Balenciaga excelling commercially but losing part of their original identity (plus the closure of Christian Lacroix), I would personally drape myself in raspberry tulle in support of Galliano’s nostalgia over a label who is in the painful midst of a personality crisis.

Their innovative presentation, held in the Korean Cultural Centre, was inspired by the Eastern European marionette culture (I’ve witnessed it in Prague and it’s terrifying).  The atmospheric ‘puppet theatre’ was full of lifeless but cheekily well-endowed puppets sporting strategically place fruits and solitary pieces hung on rails,  illuminated by light and shadows.

As for the new collection, there were ‘let’s go boating’ soft tailored jackets, structured dresses with two-tone lapels and detailing, pretty 50s-inspired underwear as outerwear, screen printed tees and khaki shorts for guys.

The show was set up as a ’still life’ with models staring ahead and draped over chairs, serenaded by harpist Serafina Steer.  Many of the models had branch markings ‘tattooed’ on their arms and faces and some had their fluffy angel hair and hands tainted with red dye.

You really need to see it to understand, so check out a clip of the Puppet Theatre presentation…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgRQOcl76PE]

Video by brightonART

Their Autumn/Winter 09 collection is also worth a look – it’s full of cosy tartan smocks, Aztec print cardies and purple day dresses.   Stockists: My Sugarland and supersweet.