In her latest love letter to American style, having ticked off the Navajo and California girl looks in recent seasons, today saw the Wild West at its heart. Cowboy boots? Really? Its return to our wardrobes seemed wholly unlikely, right up until the first pair came towards us at the Isabel Marant show. They weren't even presented very differently to the pair you occasionally stumble upon at the back of your wardrobe and grimace at for once wearing. But such is the power of Marant - and her ability to make us want to be the girl that she portrays - that we instantly fall hook, line and sinker for whatever the Parisian designer produces.
So for autumn winter 2012, it's cowboy boots. And suede Western shirts with pearl buttons and fringing. It's broderie anglais itsy bitsy dresses, equally innocent and raunchy. And the staple of any Marant wardrobe, the cropped skinny pants, this time in leather with studding along the seams. There were only four jackets and coats which is unusual for a winter collection but, of course, they fulfil your needs, from a shaggy wool gilet to a Sheriff-style overcoat.
Today Marant announced that it was to almost double the amount of standalone boutiques worldwide to 14 stores by year end. It's never going to be a label on every high street, nor does it want to be, but as each collection consistently features one long hit parade of universal cool stuff, it never puts a foot wrong.
