At first glance, the micro sequins that were ablaze in iridescent turquoise and cherry red on the No. 21 runway seemed to shout 'Disco Ball' in capital letters. But Alessandro Dell'Acqua's collection was light years away from any cheesy light show-esque dance floor. Dell'Acqua sits firmly in the fashion school of thought that teams the girlish with the boyish, the decorative with the sober, and the kooky with the calm. It's the fashion equivalent of topping a slice of multi-grain whole wheat bread with chocolate frosting and devouring it all in one bite. This season he tempered the eye-busting bling with homely flat shoes and camel hair sweaters that were as cosy as anything your grandpa used to wear. Cut into mannish - and sometimes shapeless - silhouettes, all of the fire that could have potentially exploded from those glittering mini crystals was promptly extinguished. What was left was a runway full of covetable pieces to fill a woman's wardrobe next fall and a modern vision of magically quiet beauty.
Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans