Compositora

By SUZY MENKES
Published: February 19, 2012


Fun, Funky and Fabulous

LONDON — With male dancers sweeping up models from their chairs and depositing them on the dinner tables, and a magicianperforming sawing-the-woman party tricks, Stella McCartney’s evening dress show lived up to London fashion’s reputation as fun, funky and fabulous.

All the energy of the city is being captured bydesigners whose irreverence and energy masks a well-organized fashion week. The 2012 winter season includes a “rock vault” for fine jewelry, a continuing focus on sustainability and a film to showcasethe movies that span art and fashion.

This year is also the celebration of a decade of support from Topshop, which has done so much to nurture young talent.

It is the kooky side of London stylethat charms and inspires, from the mad outfits put together by creative fashionistas on the streets to the originality on the runways.

That the Stella McCartney catwalk was nonexistent was partof the charm. The designer called on her friend Rihanna to drum up excitement for that coming Hollywood moment: the Academy Awards next Sunday.

Oscar-worthy dresses included last season’s blackdress with curving inserts of sheer chiffon, as worn by Kate Moss; and the colorful outfits from jumpsuits to printed dresses that prove Ms. McCartney’s once sporty touch to be strong for after dark.A balloon fest of inflated gilded “padlocks” and two beast-like creatures greeted guests at Mulberry ’s show Sunday. Add the American singer-sensation Lana Del Rey, sitting front row to publicizenot her “Video Games” music but a namesake handbag.

Almost every outfit had a bag — Mulberry’s forte — but the designer Emma Hill created a fun collection of Mongolian lamb coats and vests and otherhairy separates inspired by Maurice Sendak’s book “Where the Wild Things Are.”

London also has a quiet and considered style. Marios Schwab called his woman “a voyeur,” an observer half-...