evening standard

Reality defeats avant-garde on student catwalk  by Becky Davies

With only a few minutes to showcase their collections, it is understandable that some students resort to shock tactics.But fortunately there were also plenty of insightful graduates who realise that people actually want to wear clothes - not simply look at them in an art gallery. There was Sarah Ludbrook's seaside-friendly collection of white hanky hemmed crochet dresses accessorised with ice-creams, flasks and cake tiers; Helen Haynes's hooded waterproof jacket-dresses; re-worked trenches from Emma Downing; and swooshed pleated dresses from Laura Clarkson. All fitted the commercial bill.

The highlight? Nicola Stewart. Her refreshing floral-print skirts, jackets and trousers teamed with see-through plastic coats and jackets were great, but when her final model walked out accompanied by a beautiful Afghan hound (complete with a matching coat) the audience whooped - full marks.