Pole position

Have you seen? Robert Cary-Williams' designs for The Clapham Grand? There'll be lots of bondage straps. A 1920s Paris look, a prostitute style. Bustles!'

Robert Cary-Williams is talking quickly because, one, he always talks quickly - ideas bolt through his head - and, two, because he's in the middle of creating costumes for the Grand.

The Clapham nightclub opens later this month after a rehaul and Cary-Williams, one of the UK's most challenging and individual designers, is dressing its pole dancers.

He's quite a catch: his shotgun T-shirts have been worn by all and sundry (Jude Law, Kate Moss, Orlando Bloom) and his intensely personal vision has won the respect of peers and industry.

Each Cary-Williams piece tells a tale, drawing influence from life on his father's farm, in the army and the world around him. His style - stressed and distressed; delicate fabrics ripped, shredded, torn, shot and set alight; clothes changed by physical forces - is proving ideal for the job.

Forget thongs: the outfits are at once fragile and full of fire. It's going to be a hot night for everyone at the Grand.

Opening night at the Grand, Nov 29. Tel: 020 7223 6523, www.claphamgrand.com. Tickets cost £8 with flyer, £10 on the door. Robert Cary-Williams, tel: 020 7434 4333.