It's day five of London Fashion week. The weather is rubbish and all the fashionistas are starting to tire of show-hopping and hobbling across cobblestones at Somerset house. So it's little wonder that a fair few skipped Ashish's AW10 show with its 9am start time.
It was fitting then, as bloggers and editors across London repeatedly hit the snooze button, that the first look down the catwalk appeared to be sequinned pyjamas...
Ashish's infatuation with the sequin prevails for another season. And thank goodness - it put a sparkle into an otherwise miserable cold morning.
Rather than naming one inspiration for his AW10 collection, the designer wove a little story for us. Once upon a time there was a land called Ashishistan:
'A former Soviet republic that is fondly known as 'pearl of the Black Sea' - partly because of its women, but largely for the unexploited oil and gas reserves that are fast making it he central Asian equivalent of Switzerland. Here you'll meet this season's heroine, who recently gave up winters spent huddled round a yak dung fire for lazy days in the Mediterranean sunshine with the Abramovitchs as neighbours'
I really liked the collection. I'm growing a little tired of evening sequins but for AW10 Ashish has shown a way to work a sequin in the day - matt, floor-length, with chunky knits.
Well worth getting out of my warm bed for.
Pic credits: Chris Moore / catwalking.com