If Giles Deacon was in need of any moral support at this evening’s show then there was plenty of it on hand. His front row was filled with women who have long been friends and fans of the designer - Gwendoline Christie, Luella Bartley, Lulu Kennedy and Jade Parfitt were all nestled alongside Cara Delevingne, Daisy Lowe, Claudia Winkleman and a host of other familiar faces who whooped and cheered throughout. As well they might - it was one of the best London shows we’ve seen.
 
Speaking backstage, Deacon said that inspiration had stuck while he was spending time sitting in Chelsea Physic Garden, the botanical garden started in 1673 to study the medicinal properties of plants. ‘It’s very peaceful and quite romantic,’ he said, ‘And it has a sinister aspect at certain times of light and night. It’s quite fairytale.’ So he conjured romantic, Gothic, Georgian girls, their lips painted black, in black velvet and satin dresses with cotton blouses, capes and ruffled gowns, ruffs peppered with pearls and blown-out, hallucinogenic prints of Georgian salons and mushrooms.


 
The clothes were beautiful but it was the women wearing them that truly made them stand out. ‘I feel very strongly about casting strong characters and people that can be themselves on the catwalk,’ said Deacon. ‘I’m so bored of seeing this homogeneous run of gorgeous girls looking like robots. I like to see what’s brilliant and different about everybody.’ That meant Kendall Jenner, Erin O’Connor, Jacquetta Wheeler and Jessica Stam took to the floor, but the most inspired choice was Anna Cleveland who was mesmerising as she closed the show in a pleated dress that came alive as she twirled and teased her way down the catwalk. It was a real moment.