I've never really got the whole Edie Sedgwick thing. Sure, she had a nice haircut and an interesting line in friends but 'Icon' just seems a bit of a stretch. I mean, let's be honest, she was no Jane Birkin. Consequently I was less than thrilled to read that Spijkers En Spijkers had based their SS08 collection around Warhol's eye-shadow addicted muse. However, for the sake of a fair review and in an effort to curb my increasing cynicism with these 'themes', I decided to put my Sedgwick (possibly Sienna Miller related) prejudice aside and pretend I never saw that darn press release in the first place.

So, back again at the Royal Academy (who'll have hopefully sorted out the overcrowding problems by next season) I prepared myself for a parade of 60s inspired, gamine-friendly mini-dresses and, well, I was sort of on the money as a series of ‘60s inspired, gamine-friendly mini-dresses’ did indeed appear before me. Silk and high-gloss satin were employed throughout, with shapes and cuts not dissimilar to their SS07 collection, SS08 seemed pretty much a continuation of the classic Spijkers en Spijkers look-perhaps that 60s influence has always just been a part of their aesthetic?

Clean lines, geometric 'H' necks, block colour alongside striking monochrome and variations on a standard style-the girls are clearly believers in the ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ school of thought. If this sounds like a criticism it’s not. These two know their way round a dress and what they lacked in innovation they made up for in flattering cuts and an eye for colour and texture. The oversized heavy satin biker-cut jackets in black and silver seemed a little out of place but were absolutely gorgeous and while I didn’t care for the clear PVC pieces, their use of stripes and mismatch pastels made up for it. I’ve always liked their emphasis on the neckline and bust, using modernist inspired shapes and cut-out panels in contrast to simple, uncluttered skirts. I wasn’t disappointed to see this return for SS08. A well-rounded collection that didn’t push any envelopes but hit all the right notes.