Avant-garde students bring London fashion to a close

On what other catwalk would you see a pink, rubber trenchcoat, men in four-inch platform soles, and head-to-toe leopard-print outfits?

The Central Saint Martin's show is the answer, and it closed London Fashion Week yesterday with the MA students' final collections.

This is not only the place to spot outrageous clothes, but where the star designers of tomorrow are identified and recruited. The college is alma mater to Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney and John Galliano, and graduates working behind the scenes at brands such as Gucci and Prada.

This year's class was no disappointment. Sophia Amanzi-George opened with bright folkloric dresses trimmed with broderie anglaise and stamped with the odd Chanel logo for good humour. Lee Cleal mixed multicoloured roses, stripes and marbling on A-line jersey dresses. Danielle Scutt, closing the show, used oversized leopard spots for her Thierry Mugler-style belted, figure-hugging dresses. Victoria Roe provided the requisite provocation - pink, sheer coats cut from the type of rubber usually reserved for fetish clubs. In her hands, the result was beguiling.

Professor Louise Wilson, the course director, said she was optimistic that the college would maintain its reputation as a Fame-style fashion academy.

"This was a very good year and I believe that there's still talent out there," she said.

"Because of the standing of the course, we can choose the ones with the right dynamics and the right time."

Sarah-Ann Creaven won the overall year prize for her photo prints and a surrealist dress of fabric chains.

- INDEPENDENT