Smith keeps it old school

IT was back-to-school time at London Fashion Week yesterday as British designer Paul Smith injected a little Harry Potter inspired geek-chic into his catwalk collection for spring-summer 2008.

Supermodel Lily Cole wore Harry Potter-style circular black specs with grey skinny school trousers and a prepy navy blazer with white trimming. Other stunningly tailored school blazers were in red and white stripes or in pure white with pretty pink edges to give a cheerleader feel. The blazers were neither new nor inventive, but they once again showed the designer’s ability to please the crowd and look set to make the blazer a key piece for next season.

Smith also presented a “stolen from your boyfriend” schoolgirl look, as models wore thick-striped dresses styled like over-sized rugby shirts and cable-knit boy’s sweaters below the knee.