For spring summer 2013, the designer showed a sportswear- and urban-inflected collection in crisp, clear tones.

There were sweatshirt and t-shirt shapes in swingy silk, cycling shorts in soft blue leather and upscaled windbreaker looks. Trains on dramatic stepped-hem dresses had the weightlessness of nylon, but turned out to be taffeta.

The mesh and double thigh splits we've seen elsewhere showed up here too, this time with a layered aspect that felt new. Sporty mesh appeared as slices of fabric around the neckline and in double thigh splits that exposed mesh windows underneath.

‘It came from an athleticism and an idea of sensuality, but in a sporty way,’ Nicoll told us backstage after the show. ‘And versatility in terms of day-to-night.’ None of it had anything to do with the Olympics. ‘Not consciously,’ at least.

The designer said ‘it felt right’ to return to a full-scale show after a season of the presentation format. Fresher, younger, with lashings of ‘90s sportswear—it felt right to the women in the audience too.