Michael van der Ham

It wasn't just Keira Knightley and Elle Fanning.

Louise Wilson inspires Christopher Kane and Gigi Hadid walks another big runway show.

Right here, right now.

Playing the name game in London is far from easy: So many cool young designers, so many unusual names, and only a week to make sense of them all. It’s largely due to the aversion many Brit design talents have to being crafted into the sort of the fashion celebs we adore stateside. No worries; the clothes spoke volumes for themselves, as London dialed down the quirked, and turned out one of the most sophisticated seasons in recent years. See for yourself!

The British Fashion Council has announced the three winners of the "Fashion Forward" 2013 award for womenswear. David Koma, Holly Fulton and Michael van der Ham are the lucky three designers--and if you don't know their names yet, now's the time to get familiar.

Couldn't make it to London fashion week? NBD. It's already in full swing and we've got you covered so you can watch (most of) it from the comfort of your couch. So what are you waiting for? Grab some ice cream, put on your best pair of Louboutins with your Target pajamas, and open up your lap top to sit front row to take in London's finest on live stream. Bonus point for those who wake up early enough to catch all of them!

The list of nominees for this year's British Fashion Awards was announced last night, once again reminding us why Great Britain has become the place t

LONDON--Michael van der Ham started his show by spilling a Skittles bag of candy-colored crushed velvet dresses onto his A/W '11 catwalk. All were asymmetric, with one dolman or bell-shaped arm and the other sleeveless or short. Flirty with opaque black tights and heels, they easily could have gone home on the backs of any number of editors in the front rows. From these confections, Van Der Ham transitioned to velvet tops and wide silk trousers in the same hue. All featured velvet panels or baby frills on the waistbands (texture blocking alert!).

As part of their indie designer lab Collective, Topshop is launching two new collaborations--both online exclusives. The first is a great line of prin

You can't consider Michael van der Ham without considering Rodarte. The Los Angeles-based sisters' influence on the Netherlands-born designer is undeniable when you look at his Spring 2011 collection, shown today at the Topshop space in Waterloo Station. But van der Ham does something with his clothes that the Rodarte sisters have difficulty pulling off: Despite the mismatched prints and odd seam placement, his collection always looks clean, polished and pretty. I was particularly fond of the summer velvet Pollini shoes he used in the show, as well as the very unique colored crystals he incorporated into his looks. (As a Swarovski sponsored designer, van der Ham had access to the company's vast crystal archive. However, not all of his peers utilize this privilege in such an impressive way.)

Swarovski just released the list of shows it'll be sponsoring for Spring 2011. The roster is long, but distinguished: Prabal Gurung Juan Carlos Obando Erdem GILES Marios Schwab Richard Nicoll Mark Fast JW Anderson Holly Fulton Henry Holland Michael van der Ham Louise Goldin What does a Swarovski sponsorship afford designers?

British Fashion Council's NEWGEN scholarship endows four emerging designers each season to put on a runway show. Spring/Summer 2011's recipients were announced today, and included David Koma, Holly Fulton, Mary Katrantzou, Michael van der Ham and Peter Pilotto. Craig Lawrence and Louise Grey will each hold a presentation. Along with £5,000 - £10,000 towards their show costs, the winners receive free exhibition space, usage of the BFC catwalk and mentoring.