The Geldofs drop in for tea at Luella

IT WAS a family affair at the Luella Bartley show for London Fashion Week today, as Bob Geldof took a front row pew to watch his daughter, Pixie, on the catwalk. He was accompanied by his elder daughter, Peaches, and if there was any rift between them after Peaches's recent marital shenanigans, it didn't show as they chatted together.

Luella provides quite the uniform for London's coterie of party girls, It girls, rich girls and daddy's girls. Her formula is deceptively simple: remake the prom dress for a younger, leggier market and save it from being too conservative by styling it with a jumper or a woollen beanie hat.

Thus Pixie, 18, walked out in a black and gold strapless bubble dress, a frilly black jumper layered underneath, and the obligatory ankle boots that are regulation garb for any London girl between the ages of 12 and 40.

In a recession, it pays to consolidate your brand, so no surprises that Luella stuck to what she is best known for. The prom dresses were recast in darker tones, though accented with gold for an uplifting edge. A typical look: black bubble dress, gold piping, black boots, crimped hair and sparkly gold lamé tights, as though conjuring the spirit of Camden Market in the Eighties. The styling was young and girlish, with some of the models in pigtails or with pink hair.

Hedging her bets, though, there was far more to the collection than a selection of paparazzi-friendly dresses. Luella also excels at classical English tailoring, and for those customers who aspire to a little more than being snapped leaving Smash and Grab at the Punk club, there were plenty of grown-up clothes as well.

A navy blazer with red piping, a herringbone pencil skirt, a sequin-splashed cardigan and a simple white pinstripe shirt were some of the highlights.

"The collection is a bit more down-no, not in that way," said Bartley backstage, batting away the idea that the recession had any bearing on her direction. "We don't mention the recession here. I mean that the colours are more down; more muted than in my current collection. There are more greys and blacks - they just feel more right for now."

"I'm never showing at this time in the morning again," she added, referring to her 10am slot. "That's why I laid the tea on." Guests were able to avail themselves of mugs of tea decanted by school-style dinner ladies wearing floral overalls and a friendly smile. That's London Fashion Week: a serving of tea and sympathy alongside lovely clothes.

London Fashion Week continues until Wednesday.