OPI was one of the first to jump on the bandwagon launching an Alice in Wonderland collection with glitzy and ruby red nail colours named after phrases and characters from the popular children’s tale, including Mad as a Hatter and Off with Her Red.

 Disney Couture’s jewellery line really captures the essence of the film using imagery from the story to create delicate earrings, knuckledusters and gold and silver plated necklaces. Most impressive is the ‘Drink Me’ necklace and stacked teacup ring.

 Alice has also become a muse for Junk Food and Truly Madly Deeply’s T-shirts with their Message in a Bottle Drink Me cotton top and Flamingo and Deeply Curious Alice tees. As well as high street store Miss Selfridge who have teamed up with Disney for a five piece collection of vests and t-shirts with different illustrations.

even handbag extradonaire Furla have created printed bags trimmed with rabbit head clasps and All About Town have launched a line of sparkly alice bands.

The characters costumes on screen are also proving popular and come spring we may all be donning Alices’ blue pinafore and pastel coloured dresses.

The highlight of the three day designer fashion and shopping event at Somerset House was the British Fashion Council’s catwalk show presented by top fashionista Louise Roe and featuring directional designer trends for Spring/Summer 2010. Top trends- Candy Rock, Swallows and Amazons and Vintage Glamour featured, with garments from Jasper Conran, Betty Jackson and Jaeger. Key looks included double denim, brightly coloured pop socks, clashing patterns, striking hair pieces, geeky specs and floaty chiffon dresses in sorbet shades.

Spring/Summer hair and makeup trends  were also showcased with footage from LFW and the shows sponsors- Toni and Guy and Elizabeth Arden who celebrated the ballet bun, voluminous hair, and brightly coloured makeup as essential looks for the season.

And for the dedicated shopper, over 100 designer stands sold everything from hats, jewellery and handbags to vintage sunglasses, swimwear and evening dresses. Designers included Philip Treacy, Mawi, Anna Lou, Linda Farrow, Sass and Bride and American Retro.

The champagne bar, Elizabeth Arden masterclasses and personal stylist lounge were the icing on the cake.

For all those who didn’t make it to fashion week here’s a round up of the trends that graced the catwalks this February.

Sheepskin was all over the catwalk at LFW from Topshop’s sheepskin bags and boots to the sought after sheepskin ‘Minder’ jacket as seen at Burberry, Margaret Howell and Henry Holland, predicted to be the staple of every fashionistas Autumn/Winter wardrobe and set to replace trusty firm favoutite the biker jacket.

A look favoured by many designers this year was androgny come feminine meets masculine with big chunky knits worn over floor length dresses and under crop jackets.  Johnathon Saunders took this to a whole new level with his oversized baby blue coats and Christopher Kane with models sauntering down the catwalk in black kilts.

Dresses featured prominently in most of the shows this year with ankle length gowns from Erdem, and Osman and Twenty8Twelve’s floor skimming jersey dresses. Pinafore’s also made a comeback thanks to Schwab and Heikki Salonen.

Evening wear was embellished with crystals at Christopher Kane’s show and Van der Ham showcased opulent long gowns made from lurex fabrics and silk.

This Feb we saw lace return to the catwalk with designers such as Christopher Kane using the ultra feminine fabric in blouses or as panels .Leather was also a key staple on the catwalks from Emma Griffiths’ leather panelled leggings to NicoleFahri and Christopher Kanes’ leather dress. Military style coats and jackets as well as equestrian style jodpurs also featured.

Colour was somewhat lacking at most of the shows with designer’s use of charcoal grey, olive and military green, grey, petrol blue and tobacco brown. Hints of colour came in the form of golden honey, nuede,baby pink and splashes of ruby red.

Known as the ‘Queen of Knits’, Sonia Rykiel’s collection, launching on 20 February, will showcase the French designers signature style with brightly coloured stripped and overtly feminine pullovers, embellished jumpers,floaty dresses and jumpsuits.

The collection is Sonia Rykiel’s second collaboration  with the High Street chain after launching lingerie and related accessories last Winter.

Sonia Rykiel began her career in 1986 when she opened her first boutique in France. The flamboyant redhead has since become a national icon whose career has been celebrated with many honours and on the French social and cultural scene. She has also written nine books, and after her daughter joined the company in 1975 she has expanded her lines to include: Sonia by Sonia Rykiel, Rykiel Woman,Rykiel Enfant and shoes and accessories.

This is the latest of H and M’s many designer collaborations having featured collections by Stella McCartney, Matthew Williamson, Comme des Garcons in the past and most recently the collection by shoe extraordinaire Jimmy Choo.

What’s not so clever is how long it took to find the thing, without signposts or asking at information it’s impossible, obviously a problem others had as I was only one of two browsing the store, not quite the rave I was hoping for.

If you’re are looking for a touch of nostalgia this is the place to come with the shop selling everything from popular nineties DVDs including Four Weddings and a Funeral, Titanic and TV box sets of Friends and Ab Fab, to Baby G watches, Kickers branded bags, back issues of Vogue with cover girl Kate Moss, bum bags and original Take That memorabilia. You can even buy Mac makeup to re-create the iconic nineties made-up look.

Sadly the same could not be said about the selection of nineties clothes provided by vintage stores Relik and Beyond Retro with four rails of denium, predominantly dungarees, suits, lace slips and miscellanous aaron cardigans. Not what I call a celebration of nineties fashion.

All I can say was that it was a lot easier leaving the pop up store than finding it.

Selfridges nineties concept store is open until 29 January on the ground floor at their Oxford Street branch, London.

There’s been an array of films that have not only portrayed the fashion industry but helped influence it, with the return of the Breton trend thanks to Coco Chanel and the power suit as worn by Vogue editor Anna Wintour in the September issue. But as always some trends have made more of an impact than others, earning themselves a place in fashion industry. As we draw closer to the new year it’s time to look back on the trends that we all spent out hard earned cash on.

1. Harem trousers- In the summer we ditched flimsy skirts and shorts for something a bit more comfy which suited both Brit girls and our miserable weather. Plain or patterned harem trousers were seen on the likes of Cheryl Cole in her video Fight for this Love and Diane Kruger who rocked hers with a pair of Givency heels.

 2. Crop tops- A favourite in the eighties and nineties, crop tops make a comeback in 2009 becoming a staple item for every girl’s wardrobe whether in the summer, autumn or winter, there was a style to suit everyone from cropped vests, t-shirts or long sleeves.  Despite the crop top coming under harsh criticism for favouring skinny girls, most shunned this suggestion and wore a vest underneath.  

3. Heeled gladiators- We wore our flat gladiators to death in 2008 and then came the heeled gladiator, a shoe that was comfortable, like its flat counterpart, and that could take you from office to bar. Hot off the catwalk, the IT shoe of 2009 came in an array of muted colours and metallics and was worn by style guru’s Kate Moss and Ashley Olsen.

4. Bows- from Lady Gaga’s hair bow to tops adorned with over-sized bows and hairbands that would make even Minnie Mouse jealous, this girlie trend was the epitome of cool. Jumping on the bandwagon was Louis Vuitton, whose Autumn/Winter 2009/10 collection included an emerald bow ruffled blazer and a huge black bow worn as a headband.

5. Jumpsuits/playsuits- made it a lot easier to pick an outfit but in a toilet emergency were not so practical. First came the boiler jumpsuit with peg leg or harem trouser bottoms followed by the trendier summer playsuit adorned with flowers or similiar feminine prints. The jumpsuit/playsuit combined all looks, from Goodess to sporty and was seen on the likes of Kate Bosworth and Katie Holmes .

6. Fringing and feathers- adorned bags, shoes, boots, skirts and dresses. Whereas fringing was suited more for daytime, with the popular fringed leather handbag, feathered skirts and accessories were a little classier as demonstrated by Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively.

 7. Textures- 2009 was the year for lace and velvet. There was Prada’s black  lace jacket, a nod to the gothic trend and more angelic pieces with sheer white lace tops and beautiful pastel lace dresses. The likes of Rihanna and Lady Gaga even wore lace masks to A- list events. Velvet was combined with body con for the ultimate in figure hugging dresses as well as introducing the velvet playsuit and mini.

8. Embellishment- zips and studs were used on clothing and accessories, turning a plain top into something a bit more edgy. Michael Kors introduced the exposed zip, adorning dresses, skirts and tops, while Alexa Chung supported the trend, donning a studded collar shirt to the Cinema Society and Hugo Boss screening of Inglorious Basterds in NYC.

9. Combo’s- there was the jegging, the jeans and leggings combo and then came the coatigan, coat+cardigan. Both designed for comfort and ease, the jegging took off in a big way, unlike the coatigan which failed to make such an impression. 

 10. Sequins- not just for Christmas but for life! Sequins were a massive trend for 2009 thanks to top designers Issaz Mizrahi, Marc Jacobs and Phillip Lim who bedazzled dresses, bags, tops and shoes. Most notably the trend started with the sought after sequinned blazer as ladies were encouraged to dress down the sparkly stuff, mixing and matching sequinned tops or jackets with skinny jeans and boots.

11. Shoulders-sharp or padded shoulders were the focus for autumn/winter as introduced by Balmain, with the Parisian designer’s pyramid shoulder military drummer boy jacket and the silver shoulder dress made famous by Ms Moss. This trend certainly wasn’t for the faint hearted as we re-lived the eighties and re-introdued worn out shoulder pads back to our wardrobes.

I wonder what trends 2010 has in store for us?

Unusually the panto has a real community feel to it and local slant, being set in Hammersmith and with references to the Borough’s amenities. The show’s director Steve Marmion also successfully managed to modernise the dated tale of Jack and the Beanstalk using the credit crunch as an explanation to why the main characters, Jack and his mum, the dame, Ms Wendy Windsor, played by experienced television actor Martyn Ellis, live in a bean tin in the middle of a roundabout, the only green space in Hammersmith, according to the story.

Another twist to the tale is Jack’s cow who is actually a Spanish bull named El Especial, the Special One, which the audience are taught to repeat each time he appears on stage and who opens the show with jokes based on popular advert Compare the Market. No surprise that El Especial is the audiences’ favourite character with a less than traditional costume of cow print bottoms and muscle top.

Sean Kearns also gives a great performance as Plug, baddie Evelyn Greedly’s Irish side-kick and Ms Wendy Windsor’s love interest, who has a tendency to burst into song and whose energy and enthusiasm represents all that is panto. As well as young Natalie Best playing the part of Jill, Jack’s girlfriend, who owns the stage and produces a great vocal, even with most of the song’s ridiculous lyrics.

The most impressive features in the panto is the mechanical talking snails that live alongside the bean tin and Gog the giant, a huge puppet voiced by Patrick Stewart of Waiting for Godot, who puts his prisoners through a demanding schedule making giant marshmallow’s, a deviation from the original story which nevertheless adds to the production.

Unfortunately the experienced actors are let down by the performances of the young ensemble; whose acting seems forced and basic costumes go against the tradition that is pantomime, as well as the many gimmicks the cast use to entice the audience, such as throwing magic beans (balls) to the audience and asking them to pass them back, they are only asking for trouble, engaging the audience in a tug of war match and throwing sweets into the audience, something that is normally relied on in an amateur production.

The provocative exhibit, Hoerengracht or ‘Whore Canal’ by American artist Nancy Reddin and her late husband Ed Kienholz, who are known for their controversial and socially critical works of art, is one of the gallery’s most shocking piece displayed to date, capturing the seediness of late night Amsterdam.

Walking through the streets of the Hoerengracht, lit by neon red lights, you feel uncomfortable with its eerie alley ways and life like mannequins dressed in revealing underwear in windows and doorways offering their bodies, one posed washing her private parts and another wearing see-through knickers.

I’ve never been to Amsterdam but would expect the Red Light District to be as seedy and unsightly as Kienholz’s voyeuristic exhibit which pays attentions to the smallest of details, from the bollards and bike stands lining the streets to the pictures hanging and music playing in each home.

The Hoerengracht, located in the National Gallery’s Bernard and Marley Sunny room, is one of Reddin Kienholz’s largest pieces and took nearly five years to complete. The couple became fascinated with Amsterdam’s Red Light District after making numerous visits to the city.

Nancy, who is known for her works of art depicting prostitution and sex, claims the ‘Whore Canal’ is a kind portrait of the profession. She goes on to say that she hopes prostitution will be made legal so girls can get police protection rather than prosecution, and this is what the tableaux apparently aims to portray?

The Horengracht is on display at the National Gallery until February 2010. Entry to the exhibit is free.

Fortunately all the great trends come back into fashion and I was lucky enough to experience a night of forties fashion and frolics at London’s Blitz Party.

I dressed for the occasion in a patterned tea dress, nylon stockings and vintage shoes and bag circa 1940, sporting matching red lips and nails for an evening of war- time entertainment.

The party, held under the arches in London’s Shoreditch, was kitted out like an air raid shelter complete with black out curtains, oil lamps, sandbags and gas masks, even the bar menu’s were designed to look like WW2 ration books. And with everyone dressed in traditional forties costumes, ladies donning high waisted skirts, tea dresses and turbans and men dressed in WW2 uniforms, an authentic 1940s experience was created.

But while the location was impressive the limited drink selection was not, ale, apple juice based cocktails and a non-existent selection of soft drinks. Not to forget the pricey selection of sarnies and scotch eggs that I was almost convinced had been advertised at no extra cost?

Having promptly arrived at the party we grabbed one of the few tables close to the stage ready for the night’s entertainment, a swing ban playing renditions of classic 1940s songs, along with top dj’s, while forties newsreels were projected onto the wall. But as I found out if you want to show off your forties jitterbug you’ll wait a long time to be asked, proving forties etiquette doesn’t stand  in the noughties.

As the entertainment started the more crowded the party became, leaving us having to fight to keep our seats and peering through the crowds to catch a glimpse of the band.

Not only did the lack of seating cause problems hobut the limited number of ladies loo’s and the time queuing at the party’s two bars to get a drink.

The rest of the evening was spent drinking copious amounts of apple flavoured cocktails after reaching the front of the bar queue, fighting for a space on the dance floor and trying to catch the eye of a sailor or two with my own unqiue version of the lindy hop, only to be shown up by the professional dancers who decided to shame us all.

Needless to say I didn’t find my WW2 hero and thought it best to hang up my dancing shoes.

The Marylebone flagship store, located on 18-19 St Christopher’s Place, officially opened on 21 November, with plans to stake a claim on UK shoppers once again.

When Kookai came to the UK in the 1990s it was considered to be the epitome of cool and as a teenager I remember saving to buy its branded logo tees and shoppers.

It has come a long way since then and now claims to draw on its French heritage of over 25 years of experience, ‘allowing women in their thirties to express their individuality with a brand they can understand and find approachable, with clothes that focus on the quality and cut’.

Speaking to Handbag.com, Emma Churchill, Kookai’s UK Head of Product stated, ‘The brand is contemporary, subtle and affordable, the French twist is still there within a collection marked out by exclusive prints, luxury fabrics, and trend-led products that are a step up from Kookai’s former offerings’.

Kookai’s mission statement is to offer ‘beautiful designer clothing, full of seduction and style a la francaise at an affordable price.’

Wanting to see for myself and with this in mind I headed to the store. My first impression was how small the boutique was for a flagship, but at the same time how similar it looked to its nineties counterpart.

Stepping into the store I was taken aback by the strong smell of lavender, how unwelcoming the staff were and the lack of colour, with row upon row of black.

Considering Kookai claims to be affordable I was shocked to find a plain white vest would cost me around £20 and over £100 for a black puffa jacket, neither of which were anything special and certainly not fashion forward as the brand suggests.

The layout and décor of the shop also failed to grab me. Of what I could tell there was one small rail of evening wear, consisting mainly of black sequined dresses, a tiny selection of footwear at the back of the store, and several rails more of  unspecified black garments .

As they say first impressions count and mine was not a good one.

Kookai’s re-branding may have been successful in France but what with the recession and the success of Jimmy Choo for H and M it seems Kookai may have a lot of work to do in order to repeat their nineties success.