Maybe it was the freezing cold, maybe it was the eagerness to see what the eclectic Louise Gray (and spring NEWGEN winner) would present at her Fall 2012 runway show, but attendees were anxious, really anxious. So much so that crowd control had to come in to direct the rush of frozen fashionistas into a single file line. Once inside, we were greeted with champagne and haggis toasts (only in London does this combo work!) as the sounds of pop music royalty (i.e. Whitney Houston and Madonna) pumped through the massive Topshop venue.

Once the show started, it was a barrage of fiercely colorful prints on top of, well, fiercely colorful prints, one after another after another. Each of the looks sent down the runway revealed Gray’s source of inspiration; she claims “the collection is everything, all the time.” Perhaps a more appropriate description would be “everything all at once.”

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LONDON–Step up, step up for the Louise Gray experience. The pink-haired designer opened the door to a funhouse of clashing plaids, metallic polka dots, houndstooth checks, bondage balloon hats and club-kid makeup at her Fall 2011 show.

Gray crammed dozens of plaids into the show, often all in the same garment. Some looked less like the sober heritage tartans we’ve come to know than patterns lifted from those rolling plastic grocery bags that old ladies wheel to the market. Others served as backdrops for still giddier detailing, as with the foil polka dots that floated over plaid mohair coats.

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