Runway take-off

Fashion shows are expensive – very expensive.

At least, they are if they are created and produced to top-notch standards, with a strong and incredibly gorgeous team of professional models, fabulous hair and make-up, internationally renowned designer clothes, bags and footwear, and lashings of Champagne and canapés, plus a decent sprinkling of fake autumn leaves to dress the catwalk.

Bearing this in mind, it’s hardly surprising that really good fashion shows have been far and few between in Yorkshire, especially in recent memory. So it was with great cheer (and much whooping and applause) that Harvey Nichols brought back its prestigious Victoria Quarter autumn-winter fashion show, performed before an audience of 300, all of whom could claim to be Frow-ers (front-row sitters), thanks to a canny seating plan. There were 12 models in total, eight girls and four boys, and five scenes, or collections of grouped outfits styled and put together to illuminate a particular trend. So that’s 60 outfits in total (if backstage was chaotic, each model emerged never looking less than calm and beautifully dressed).

The names of the scenes told the story of autumn-winter fashion: Nostalgia gave us classy 1940s glamour looks, with faux furs and soft tailing; Fetish brought risqué Gothic-esque black and sheer looks; Print showed geometric, floral and animal print patterning; Androgyny showed womenswear adopting a mannish stance (the male models in this scene remained looking manly, however, in a rugged urban style); and finally Jewel Tones, which gave us amber, sapphire, ruby and amethyst, with luxe accessories.

It all made for a fascinating, scintillating and wonderfully glossy opening to the autumn-winter fashion season, and provided many styling tips, even for those of us not quite able to stretch to the £2,965 Lanvin dress, lovely as it is.

Hair: Robert Eaton at Russell Easton Lifestyle Salon in Leeds.

Make-up: Giorgio Armani at Harvey Nichols.

Styling: David Rowley and the Harvey Nichols personal shopping and display teams.

Models: Boss in Manchester.