Top Designer Profiles A/W 2012 : The Designers

Scottish-born designer Christopher Kane is a London Fashion Week star with his spellbinding spring summer 12 show rendering the audience speechless. Working closely with his muse and business partner, his sister Tammy, his star has sky rocketed since winning the Harrods award for his MA Collection. He launched his own label in 2006 (after a stint at Atelier Versace) and counts Donatella Versace amongst his legion of fans. So much so that she hired him to design the accessories for Versace’s relaunched Versus collection. Last year's inaugural winner of the British Fashion Awards New Establishment Award, Kane continues to go from strength-to-strength, with critics heralding his spring summer 12 show his best to date.

Signature Style: His Scottish heritage, 80s films and even SodaStream have inspired his past collections. From liquid filled streams running through embellished shirts, to cricket jumpers teamed with ethereal metallic dresses, he always has the fashion pack guessing, what will inspire him next?

Design duo Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough of Proenza Schouler met at New York’s Parsons School of Design in 1999. In 2002 they set up their own label, named after their mothers. Champions of minimal and often futuristic shapes and sleek silhouettes their designs embody the city of Manhattan’s signature style, cool yet polished, modern yet luxe. For spring 12 the designers have ramped up their marketing presence with a high-profile advertising campaign featuring model-of-the-moment Natasha Poly. Does this signal big ambitions for 2012?

Scroll through Proenza Schouler's SS12 collection

Haider Ackermann made the leap from cult favourite to most talked about last year, with his spring summer 12 collection hailed a masterpiece and his name thrown in the ring for the top job at Dior. The fashion house post still remains vacant, but the buzz surrounding Ackermann hasn’t died down. For spring 12, undulating folds of heavy weight, jewel-toned silks were worked into easy yet artful jumpsuits, as Ackermann's cut and drape wowed the crowds. The saga around who will take the top job at Dior continues, but fails to distract from his standalone appeal as a designer. Tilda Swinton pledged her allegiance to Ackermann by wearing one of his creations on the Golden Globes red carpet, proving his avant-garde style continues to enchant the A-list in to 2012.

Check out Haider Ackermann's SS12 collection

Erdem Moraliaglu has officially made the leap from rising star to hot ticket of fashion week, which is largely down to his elegant and timeless floral prints.The designer fought off stiff competition to win the Most Influential Womenswear Designer at last year's WGSN's  Global Fashion Awards and has continued to dress and impress the A-list set over the past 12 months. The Canadian designer, and former DVF employee, set up his eponymous label in 2005 and has since wowed us with beautifully printed stunningly constructed pieces. He can be credited with convincing scores of die-hard under-dressers that ladylike and perfectly turned out are cool, and his dresses have even been spotted on Sarah Brown and Michelle Obama.

Take a look at Erdem's SS12 collection

We doubt that the designer ever thought it would be so, but perhaps Isabel Marant's most talked about contribution to the world of fashion last year was her revitalisation of the humble sneaker. By injecting a high-top with a feminine wedge and some super-sporty, luxe strapping, Marant created a cult product. The move that took her from being Paris' best kept secret, to a name well known among style mavens. We are all wearing leather trousers this season largely because of Marant and her autumn 11showcase of the wardrobe staple, and we can't wait to see what she delivers next season.

Scroll through Isabel Marant's SS12 collection

Phoebe Philo toughened up the Celine aesthetic a touch with her spring 12 show and challenged us with new perceptions of proportion, making sure she remained at the top of the editor's must-have list for another season. Phoebe was Stella McCartney's right-hand woman at Chloe, before taking up the reins herself and kitting us out with everything we needed as creative director of Celine. For pre-fall 12, Celine got even tougher, with black leathers and oversized silhouettes that sat on the right side of androgyny. Philo is expecting her third child, and Celine parent company LMVH has cancelled the Celine autumn 12 catwalk show in order to ease the pressure on the designer. The exact format of Celine's Paris Fashion Week showcase has not been confirmed, but a smaller scale presentation is expected.