LONDON–Jonathan Saunders‘ show on Saturday night was probably my first “pinch me, I’m at fashion week” moment of LFW. First of all, the venue: a vacant office floor formed a glass cube above the nighttime city, with giant globe lights warming the echoing space. Despite its size, the place felt intimate thanks to the two rows of benches on each side. We were in the second row, in the same section as Olivia Palermo, Yasmin Le Bon and Marina Diamandis.

And the clothes: the shapes were strict, with midi-length pencil skirts dominating, but the prints made marvels out of these prim building blocks. Abstract, brocade-like bird and floral prints ran across bodices, waists and hemlines, with brighter diamonds set into some bodices defining waistlines and heightening contrasts.

With this collection Saunders also introduced texture-blocking, a subtler, instantly covetable alternative to jarring bands of color. Its best exponents were a narrow-shouldered red mohair coat containing planes of shorn and nubby wool and a handful of menswear pieces that used the same technique.

Interesting too, that this was the second consecutive show to feature longer dress lengths. We left feeling the urge to mothball our mini-skirts — because covering up is the new contemporary.

**Photos by Imaxtree.