A-Z of fashion

ALL THINGS PRETTY
Springtime fashion is invariably more pleasing to the eye than winter frocks and this season it's prettier than ever.

Cutesy floral designs decorated dresses at Sonia Rykiel and Eley Kishimoto; there were floaty chiffon tea dresses at Marc Jacobs and pretty little butterflies adorned everything from belts to bags at Valentino. Expect normally grown-up ladies to revel in the excuse to act all girly.

BRAZILIANA
All things Brazilian are currently as hot as Rio in high season. Supermodel Gisele has designed footwear for Brazilian label Ipanema, lingerie range Exótica (below) is the new Agent Provocateur, jewellery range Joia Brasil is flying out of Liberty, Selfridges is hosting a Brasil 40 exhibition in May and Havianas are the favourite flip-flops the world over. We're all just crazy for Brazil.

COLOUR
Black will only be worn by dull souls this season. Colour is in vogue in a big way and the general rule of thumb is the brighter the better. Vibrant hues trotted down the catwalk at Matthew Williamson, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Boyd, Celine (bag, right), Ralph Lauren and Clements Ribeiro - bright yellow, orange and green prevailed. Why wait for summer? Wear it now to liven up a grey day.

DANCE
Designers were in the mood for dancing this spring. Models, including Karen Elson, showed off their dancing skills in a Parisian dance hall at the Alexander McQueen show, while Imitation of Christ models tangoed in pairs. Dresses at Marc Jacobs, Prada, Philosophy, Julien Macdonald and Etro were designed to be twirled in. Does this mean that we should all be shimmying instead of stepping on the sidewalk?

EASTERN PROMISE
Fashion East is an initiative from the East London massive to support up-and-coming design talent. Now in its eighth season, it has already launched House of Jazz and Jonathan Saunders. This year the winning designers are Richard Nicoll, Alistair Carr and Ebru Ercon who will show back to back under the crown of Fashion East at The Old Truman Brewery on Monday morning with sponsorship from Eye2Eye. We just can't wait.

FASHION FRINGE
London Fashion Week is undeniably a breeding ground for new talent and this season sees the launch of Fashion Fringe, a national competition to find the next big fashion designer. Each year a winner with buckets of design and business savvy will be awarded £100,000 worth of ongoing technical and business advice to set up their own fashion brand. The panel of judges is chaired by Pop magazine editor Katie Grand (above right). Sounds good? Log on to www.fashionfringe.co.uk.

GLAMOURAMA
Pretty may be in, but the flip side of the coin is glamour - which we'll be embracing with well-manicured talons. Glamorous ladies are hot to trot. Take inspiration from icons Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Jackie O (below) and even Liz Hurley; never leave the house looking below par, always carry lipstick and act your age, not your shoe size.

HUGE SUNGLASSES
It's possible to wax lyrical all day long about huge face-obstructing sunglasses. The only way to wear shades is to wear them big; small, insignificant ones just look paltry in comparison. Big sunglasses are fabulous because they can make anyone look chic: they hide dark circles after a big night out and they are an instant style-fixer. Wear them morning, noon and night - but never on the Tube.

INDIVIDUALISM
According to trend predictors, 2004 is the year of individualism. We will be shopping in one-off stores, hanging out in local pubs and wearing stuff that's been made just for us. It's getting personal indeed: Richard Shah makes couture footwear and handbags, Angela Flanders will whiff you up a personalised scent, Cariad does bespoke aromatherapy blends and Hen will dye your brand-new shoes. Boys, the only place to buy your suits is made-to-measure on Savile Row.

JEWELLERY
Body adornments for spring are loud and trashy, but not blingbling. Necklaces seen at Betty Jackson and Dolce & Gabbana were made of huge beads and hanging two or three strands deep, while bangles at Dior (above) and Paco Rabanne were chunky and piled halfway up the arm. This is the kind of look that's easy to emulate with a bit of charityshop chic. Buy in multiples and clash it as much as you can.

KINGLY COURT
Kingly Court is the new haunt for savvy shoppers. The courtyard conversion off Carnaby Street houses a host of cool boutiques: buy vintage from Sam Greenberg (above), womenswear from Harriet's Muse, T-shirts from Brennan and Burch, customised clothes from Our Shop plus records at Carbon, shoes at Vans and lots, lots more. It's true shopping bliss - just make sure you make it to the third floor for extra-special finds.

LONDON FLAGSHIPS
We all know that London is the shopping capital of the world - and a legion of designers think so, too. This year, flagship stores will be popping up like jack-in-the-boxes. In March, Dolce& Gabbana is opening its flagship store on New Bond Street, Chanel is launching its make-up-only Colour Concept
store at Harvey Nichols and the new Christian Dior store is also launching. And with Matthew Williamson, too it's going to be pure shopping heaven.

MARKS & SPENCER
Fashion aficionados who renounced Marks & Spencer after tons of bad press are now returning to the ailing store and claiming it a winner. Who cares that it will never be super-fashionable? It's great for quality staples that your friends won't have. We are currently loving the luxury washable cashmere in this season's brights and stripes, as well as the cute, pink Chanel-esque bouclé jackets and the tasty Salon Rose undies.

MATTHEW WILLIAMSON
Matthew Williamson is enjoying a moment. This spring, the designer's flagship store is opening on Bruton Street selling clothes, accessories, homeware and his sparkling new shoe range. His legion of fans - including Sienna Miller, Kelis and Jade Jagger - can't wait for the colourful, indulgent, sexy space. Williamson is also designing a stationery range for Smythson, rugs for the Rug Company and furniture for hip store Tann Rokka.

NEW MODEL ARMY
Every year there are a host of new hot faces to look out for in model land. This season Gemma Ward is currently top of the pile. She was discovered at the Prada show in Milan last season and has already done numerous New York shows. Ana Hickmann, the Brazilian supermodel with the fashion world's longest legs, is also looking good, as are Julia Stegna, Stam and Erin Wasson. Learn these names.

OVER AND OUT
Inevitably, embracing new trends means that others fall by the wayside as we consign them to the back of the wardrobe. Things that are no longer acceptable to wear for fear of being branded unfashionable are: Ugg boots (not until next winter at least), Sixties, coloured tights, parkas, silver and tweed. Also reaching saturation point are celebrity-endorsed fashion labels; enough already.

PRINTS
If bold optics are your thing you'll love the fact that prints are back this spring. New fashion darling Jonathan Saunders is hugely responsible. His collection of geometric patterns (above) was lapped up by the style world. Pucci swirls will also be big as will paisley (by Etro), op art (by Paul Smith) and leopard print (by Iceberg). Wear them loud, proud and preferably clashing.

QUEEN VIV
She's the doyenne of British fashion. This year, Vivienne Westwood's design talent is being celebrated with the biggest exhibition the V&A has ever seen. Launching on 1 April, it will feature more than 150 designs from couture to ready-towear spanning Westwood's remarkable 33 years in fashion. Everyone please take your hat off to Queen Viv.

RISING STARS
While many of British fashion's big names are showing their collections on distant shores, there's a new breed of talent sending design waves through town. During London Fashion Week look out for collections by Bora Aksu, Jens Laugesen, Fumi, Jonathan Saunders, Philip Normal and Miki Fukai - all recognised for their individual, refreshing take on fashion. In a few years' time, these guys may be taking over the reins at one of the big fashion houses.

STEFAN'S SUPER STORE
The hottest new shop in town is in Brixton. Stefan's Super Store is 'The Factory for the 21st century,' according to designer Roland Mouret. The shop sells labels including Van Dutch, St¸ssy, Noki and Julien and Sophie and doubles as an exhibition space, currently showing Mirror Mirror sponsored by Stella Artois. Stefan's Super Store, 66 Railton Road, SW9 (020 7095 9266). Open Thursday to Monday, 11am to 7pm.

TAN-TASTIC
This summer, tanning - of the fake variety - will be huge. Catwalk skin was golden at Calvin Klein and Donna Karan, models in the new Versace ads are as bronzed as Donatella herself, while the beauty world is crazy for the new

St Tropez airport spray booths - launching in March. A healthy glow is as much an accessory as a belted trench and new advances mean the orang-utang look is a thing of the past.

UNDERWEAR AS OUTERWEAR
Dolce & Gabbana have long claimed that bras should be worn for the world to see. They designed the conical bra as a top for Madonna back in the last century and now the rest of the fashion world has caught on. It's positively hot this spring to show off fancy straps, slips and basque-style tops; as seen on the catwalks at Gucci, Elspeth Gibson, Sonia Rykiel and Marc Jacobs.

UP NORTH
Of course, London isn't the only place which is a breeding ground for new talent, and the Northern contingent are taking a stand at London Fashion Week. Expression is an exhibition by designers from the North West of England showing everything from jewellery and accessories to footwear and togs. Designers peddling their stuff include jeweller Gilly Langton, shoe designer Esme Ertekin and womenswear designers Prudence Wildeblood and Beth Graham.

VERTIGINOUS HEELS
Good news for shorties and bad news for sneaker freaks: heels this summer will be higher than high. Fashion designers have always known that towering heels add instant sex appeal and make any legs look better but, this season especially, they are peddling the advantage of an extra few inches. Patrick Cox and Jimmy Choo offer especially dangerous numbers, while on the high street you'll find them at Faith and good old Shellys.

WEAR DOWNEY
Showing for the first time at London Fashion Week tomorrow, Wear Downey is set to be big. The knitwear collection is the work of two designers/ models, Amy Wear and Gail Downey, the latter being a former knitwear designer for John Galliano. The girls have been designing and selling to their friends for years, including Rosemary Ferguson, Karen Ferrari and Omayru, who will model the designs at their show - and on Valentine's Day, too.

XTRA-SHORT SHORTS
If your legs are suffering from winter hibernation, it's time to shape them up for summer as shorts are set to be big fashion news. Last year's minis have been replaced with flattering, sensible, wearable shorts seen at Clements Ribeiro, Marc Jacobs and Calvin Klein. This is not a beach look - team them with shirts, hoodies, printed tops and very high heels for a stylish, sexy workwear ensemble.

YESTERYEAR
Maybe we're lacking in forward-thinking designs but this spring/summer, style inspiration is straight from the past. We will be wearing flapper dresses from the Twenties as seen at Dolce & Gabbana, Thirties shrugs thanks to Alexander McQueen and Gucci, and full Fifties-style skirts from Prada, Pucci, Luella and Temperley. Take inspiration from old films and Hollywood grandes dames (see also G for Glamourama), but whatever you do, ditch last season's flirtation with all things Sixties - it's over and out.

ZARA
The Spanish high-street store has gone from strength to strength since launching over here six years ago. It's so successful it opens a store a week in Europe and is outdoing Topshop as the stylish gals' favourite in the UK. Zara's designs are always on-the-pulse, they don't fall apart and, best of all, they are cheap. This season we especially love the print skirts and leather-pocketed handbags.