Manish Arora fuk@lfw s/s 07

During the course of Manish Arora's show, the words of Mary Schmich's famous poem, Wear Sunscreen, advised the audience to slap on the Factor 50. Someone should have thought to mention that we might like to pack our sunnies too.

Our British fashion sensibilities were not prepared for such exuberance, and in a season where every designer and his mother are channelling grey, Arora's plundering of the rainbow came as something of a shock. Not so much a riot of colour as a full-on chromatic assault, his collection shook a flagging audience to open-mouthed attention.

Finding inspiration in nature and his surroundings, Arora uses silk chiffon, organza, raw silk, brocades and jaquard to produce an attractive selection of tiered dresses, circular skirts and cigarette pants.

These are further embellished with traditional (hand weaving, sequins and patchwork) and contemporary (digital printing) techniques to produce images of pearls, lotuses, daisies, stripes, herringbones, farmyard animals, parrots, clouds and fish.

To complete the visual metaphor, enormous false eyelashes, full body paint and, in some cases jewelled butterflies perched on heads, transformed the models into otherworldly insects and birds of paradise.

This is Arora's take on a tantalising nirvana and a reflection of his mantra that ‘Life Is Beautiful'. And so it is. Very beautiful. And just a little bit nuts.

Words: Maia Adams
Photos: Judith Erwes