Osman Yousefzada

Had you ventured to Selfridges this time last week you would have stumbled across a myriad of fashion journalists (including the ELLE team) and celebrity fans mingling around a collection of gorgeous little black dresses and the designer who created them - this was the launch of the capsule collection by Osman Yousefzada for Mango. Unusually for a high street/designer collaboration as Osman (pictured left with Alice Dellal), despite having an avid following within the fashion world, hasn’t yet reached the status of household name. Luckily for you, we’re here to give you all the essential info on the hottest designer on the London fashion scene.

British born with Afghani parents, Osman’s original career path saw him study banking at Cambridge University, but after a few years working in the city he decided that a career in fashion was where his future lay. The obligatory degree from Central St Martins followed and before you could say little black dress his first collection was snapped up by Selfridges. He showed on schedule at London Fashion Week for the first time in September 2006 and his focus on timeless design, classic tailoring and beautiful draping soon had him on the fashion radar of those that matter. His a/w08 show this February was one of the hottest tickets of fashion week, with editors clamouring for his fitted dresses, sharp white shirts, exquisitely cut jackets, and bewitching combination of structure and ethnic influences. He may not yet be getting the column inches of Christopher Kane or Giles, but we have a feeling that this latest project with Mango will change all that. He has designed 10 little black dresses, from figure hugging jersey to pretty chiffon, all easy on the eye and even easier on the pocket at around £50. The collection rolls out across the country this week – for more details click here and read our Fashion Editor's report direct from the launch...