Welcome to another instalment of Amanda Zips It Up. This week has all been about London Fashion Week, showcasing everything for S/S ’19.

I went along to the grandiose Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden to see a bunch of catwalk shows, produced by new independent men’s and womenswear designers.

With huge thanks to my friend and fellow fashionista Nicole Ivison Hatch for getting us VIP FROW (that’s front row) seats at Sunday’s hottest show in town.

Whilst sipping glasses of wine costing £10 appropriately slowly, we viewed collections by designers such as Louise Clark Design, John Hererra, Maddy Stringer, Rose Red Couture, Geo Mac, No Fixed Abodeand House of Ra, amongst others.  But we were there to see the highlight of the evening – A STAR IS BORN– a fabulous label by Indian designer Sucheta Shetty Rodrigues– a close friend of Nicole’s.

Here are a few snaps from the evening.

And I also want to mention another frienda, the talented artist Davey Brown,who recently painted a cool black & white portrait of my husband Jules. Davey has ventured into fashion, producing these very cool Acid House smiley tees, featuring superstar DJs from the past 20 years.

They’re available in all sizes and cost £19.99 plus postage, via PayPal. Please contact me if you need more details.

Onto this week, and of course we delve deeper into the designers at LFW, including Alexa Chung,plus a deeper look at the diversity of the catwalk models I witnessed at the shows.

She’s one of my and the UK’s foremost style icons. I didn’t get to catch the AC show at London Fashion Week, but my good friend Katie did, and reported back.

Alexa Chung featured ‘airport style’ for her first LFW show as a designer. Breaking with the public perception of what Alexa Chung is “has been a challenge”, she comments.  But that doesn’t mean necessarily breaking with the perception of what Alexa Chung wears. Chung’s ability to identify product that will sell – remember THAT M&S collection – plus Superga, AG Jeans – have all been commercial successes.

Pardon the pun, but if those previous collaborations were “dress rehearsals”, then this was the opening night. Chung hasn’t tried to erase what came before – like the black PVC coat, seen in the previous M&S collaboration and in this latest collection too – but she’s fine-tuned her offering. I could imagine Alexa herself wearing these clothes – her ability to influence trends is what gave Chung fashion credibility in the first place.

Against a wood panelled maze of airport corridors, there were slim fitting jumpsuits, pyjamas for outdoor wear (in case there was any doubt that Alexa’s women were turning left once on the plane), stretch-knit sundresses worn with jelly shoes and brown suede coats.

A trip to Margate trawling vintage shops for inspiration generated styles that dipped between decades- a 1930s mustard silk evening dress one moment, a 1990s black silk slip dress and multiple references to the 1970s, like a safari suit inspired by a found reference of Bianca Jagger in her PJs.

This new addition to the London Fashion Week schedule is a natural one, especially given that there is a Britishness that underlies all of Alexa’s designs. The appearance of so many coats in a spring summer collection- many featuring hoods – might seem odd to some, but not to anyone familiar with (the usually non-existent) British summertime. The ‘destination’ scarf print looks, at first glance, to be printed with little Eiffel towers, a nod to her previous presentations held in Paris – but actually, it nods to Brighton Pier and Bognor Regis – hurrah!

It seems Alexa is glad to be home

My experience of London Fashion Week 2018 wasn’t just dominated by the amazing clothes, pumping tunes and iconic locations. It was also dominated by diversity, including disabled and plus–sized models.

From wheelchairs to size 20, everyone looked beautiful and confident. It was heart-warming to see.

I recently picked up last month’s issue of Cosmo, featuring cover star and plus-size model Tess Holliday. I have retained it as keepsake, to remember the year when the fashion industry got “real”. Yes, there was a backlash on social media, hailing this as a seriously unhealthy message. I guess I agree with that to an extent too. But, arguably, more unhealthy are the size zero models who still dominate the majority of catwalks. “Average” women like me are still in the catwalk minority.

For years, the industry has come under fire for its lack of representation of the full spectrum of race, size and age — and substantive improvements are only just starting to be seen in 2018. Nevertheless, I still feel that someone like me – of average height and build, size 10 on a good day, 12 on a bad day and 5 foot 6 if I stand up straight – are not really represented or “fashionable”.

I am not skinny but I’m not obese. I’m average. Yet it feels as though you have to be at either end of the spectrum to get catwalk representation. The fashion brands need to represent us ‘in the middle’ as well. Because we are the majority, and therefore have the most disposable income to spend on the latest trends.

As a fashion lover, I adore those elite catwalks, with the likes of Kendal Jenner or Bella Hadid. But as an artistic event, rather than a representation of real life.

Fashion brands have to consider the effect that their model castings can have on women. A recent report shows that 32.5 per cent of model castings went to women of colour in September’s fashion month — a commendable 2.3 per cent increase from the season before.

But only 0.2 per cent were aged 50 or above and just 0.4 per cent were plus-size — in fashion talk, that is a UK size 12 or above.

On Instagram there are the plus-size bloggers, such as Callie Thorpe, 30, with 201,000 followers. I admire these inspirational, curvy women who fly the flag for the stylish, larger lady. Also, there are the “mum bloggers”, showing motherhood in all its honesty. One example is dresslikeamum (aka Zoe de Pass, 37) who uses her platform to prove to her 119,000 followers that mums needn’t lose their fashion identity. But, that’s on Instagram – not the pages of Vogue or the catwalks of Milan.

There is a lack of interest for women like me in fashion, and that is a little sad. The sooner brands recognise the appetite for “average”, the better.