Miuccia Prada

Fashion watchers have forensically examined the clothing sported by every supermodel and front-row celebrity in the hopes of revealing their style information after a month of catwalk shows. However, there is one very important group whose personal taste is often ignored: the designers themselves. Here's a look at how you can steal their high fashion secrets on a High Street budget.

When she arrives, I am going to knock on the door of stylist Lucinda Chambers' Shepherd's Bush home. She's sporting Cos chinos, a leather belt from Italian brand Krizia ('I've been doing it for 30 years'), Birkenstocks and brass 'calamari' earrings, as the jumper says, are from her own luxury brand, Colville.

On these pages, you may have the feeling that you've seen some of them before - and you'd be correct. Here's the first fashion blitz for autumn 2023 and, perhaps, for every season to come: there are no shocking surprises. Well, there are Miuccia Prada's knickers over tights (11 designs to choose from), Micro-mini skirts, Cruella de Vil coats, and head-to-to-toe faux leather, but mostly, there are more of the garments and accessories that have stood out for us recently: loafers and flattish jackets; cropped cardigan jackets; and midi-length hems. The basics of the modern working wardrobe - suits, white blouses, trench coats – were out in force on the catwalks, and that's the main news for fall: everyday wearable items were stuck in the back room of fashion with the emphasis on drama and major events. Now, the leading designers are all failing to make clothes that will not get you to the ball, but rather to the boardroom or the bus stop. It's called Real Dressing. It's been dubbed a Real Delight in the United States.