London Fashion Week saw designers opting for an altogether more girly look for spring/summer 08, distancing themselves from the stark androgyny that has dominated for the past couple of seasons. Fitting then, for Mei Lui who’s label Victim Fashion Street, champions the frills, lace and ruffles to pretty perfection. Following on from her dramatic autumn/winter collection; awash with black, Lui has rediscovered her love affair with colour and styled it into pastel rips and rags akin to a modern day Pollyanna.

This cutesy-raggy-doll aesthetic was effectively juxtaposed with a bolshy rock and roll attitude from the models, thus eliminating the danger of saccharine sweet overkill. Hair was teased within an inch of it’s life and faces were painted white with graphic neon markings unique to each girl, further assisting the hard/soft concurrence and modernising what might have otherwise been an arguably passé collection. What really shone through however, was the meticulous attention to detail; it was a relatively large collection but each piece had its own individual charms. Pastel dresses were embellished with crochet, appliquéd with lace and strings pearls were draped on as garlands. The climax of the show however, aptly, was introduced by a Prince medley of hits. This culminated in a victorious onslaught of purple taffeta, the models finally getting into their groove as Purple Rain bellowed from the ceiling. And the victorious signature piece from the collection, an ivory blouse and full skirt was romanticism realised (bashfully modelled by Nnenna, America’s Next Top Model alumni). Triumphantly beautiful for those with a sweet tooth.