When America's and Britain's two most successful designers look East for inspiration then it must be a mega trend. According to Sir Paul, he was inspired by a recent exhibition on Oriental art staged at the Tate Museum, an exhibition that harked back to a period when the West collected examples their distant neighbors' creativity.

The result was lots of long caftans, djellabia-style long dresses, fedayin-like check headscarves and billowing chiffon tops, the better to resist the torrid heat of the Sahara. The best looks were double layer chiffons dresses, a lovely "Wind and the Lion" coat dress in chiffon that had novelty and grace and a series of hyper floral tops and cocktail dresses. The latter series, made in washed-out spring meadow flower motifs, was right on another big trend in New York and London, neo-Impressionist prints.

Admittedly, Sir Paul did show a lot of leg via far too large shorts that flared out and ended eight inches above the knee. A great men's tailor, Smith also whipped up some great snug mannish jackets for this show that included another big message: multiple lines of miniature buttons are in for Spring 2009.

photos courtesy of Fashion Wire Daily

related articles:

Sep 17, 2008:

julien macdonald's new maturity. read full entry