Initial reaction:

Muted and confident tailoring with an air of tough modernity. Or, as Sir Paul Smith aptly dubbed it: ‘Formal functionality’. It was a subdued but strong offering from the designer, who was kind enough to hold the show until the last stragglers (i.e. us) had arrived thanks to nightmare Sunday traffic.

Wo-man:

Sir Paul loves a girl in masculine tailoring and the collection drew on this crossover with what felt like a new ease and pared-down elegance. Roomy silhouettes were borrowed from his check-tastic AW15 menswear with dark grids the colour of stormy skies and seas, and trousers puddled over brown block-heeled boots with tonal snakeskin heels.  

Yellow fever:

A standout look was a mustard shearling duffle coat – a ray of sunshine on a day of torrential rain and general London gloom. 

The soundtrack to Paul Smith AW15: