After my flood fiasco of last night, I was lucky enough to wake up with a smile to the sunny style of Louise Amstrup, shown at the Royal Academy.

This was Amstrup’s second On|Off showcase and it took inspiration from the 1984 cult classic movie ‘Paris, Texas’ where the landscape is bleak and dry, but the female protagonist (Jane Henderson) is most certainly not. And neither was this confident collection. There was a strong mix of trend continuity from past seasons- waist belts, bubble skirts and graphic prints blended with a few new bangs- over-sized and stylized lapels; baggy, floaty lines with elegant drapes, to deliver a practical but punchy second show.

There were some key pieces which promise to be big news – dresses with exaggerated frontage detail and slit-sleeved jackets. I’ve also noticed that this season everyone’s keeping their hands firmly in their pockets. Pockets are everywhere – on dresses, skirts, tops, jumpers, jodphurs… Which is fine by me, as I love having a simple, stream-lined pocket to dip into, rather than a Mary Poppins maxi-bag that ensures the sun’s gone down by the time you get what you want out of it.

The afternoon brought the royalty of the week so far for me. Qasimi chose a stunning venue (Central Hall Westminster) to present a stunning collection. At the rammed reception, the young label promised high-class from the champagne-sipping start. And that is what we got.

The designs of duo Khalid bin Sultan Al Qasimi (architecturally trained) and Elliot J. Frieze (previously at Michiko Koshino) were what the elegantly eccentric crowd were eagerly awaiting. And waiting… and waiting… And an hour later we sat in the beautiful place of worship as two angelic musicians serenaded us with melodies from their golden violins!

Coquettish couture was presented next to instantly wearable casual pieces with ease established houses would covet. Whilst the daring animal-inspired headgear (worn by the models to the sounds of roars) may have been reminiscent of Gareth Pugh’s warrior helmets, overall the designs oozed originality.

The cut of every piece of the collection was astounding, from shorts to corsetry, ballgowns to business suits. The womenswear and menswear were blended successfully, with equally impressive talent on both sides of the sexes.The runching of the shorts, the tailoring of the one-piece, the sweep of the sleeves – perfect. I reckon even after a few dirty martinis, Qasimi would leave you looking pretty clean-cut.

Qasimi’s Arabic influence was present but subtle – with wide-hooded, flowing dresses and oval necklines for the boys. These boys, by the way, were the hottest spotted so far – including a rather lovely set of twins!

Although currently off-schedule, I predict Qasimi is definitely a queen-in-waiting and will become a firm Fashion Week favourite in the future. Not fashion forward enough to become inaccessible to the less audacious dressers and still interesting, beautiful and new enough to keep the true ‘nista as happy as a golden violin-playing princess in sparkly Louboutin’s.
It’s party time now, so I will be back, high and dry, for tomorrow’s installment of fashion frenzy.

Go to the Facebook page of Big Smoke Soirees by clicking here to see QASIMI Show VIDEO FOOTAGE.