LONDON, Sep 20, 2006/ FW/ --- The London collections are revered for their fashionable eccentricities. Jasper Conran is one of the more subdued balancing acts, providing elegant looks for his clientele.

The show, held at his posh lifestyle store on Sackville Street, included a sea of well-to-do Londoners and continental jet setters. With the art world A-list on the front row, Howard Hodgkins and Michael Roberts, Conran stayed true to what he does best, creating timeless, yet amazingly of-the-moment clothes.

Conran’s Spring/Summer 2007 collection made reference to English aristocratic leisure sports - tennis, cricket, golfing and driving – using a soft color palette of pink, cream and ballroom blue.

Although unmistakably feminine, the clothes possessed a slightly masculine touch in the form of cropped leather jackets and fedoras by master milliner Philip Treacy. A chiffon hooded dress and black draped silk jersey playsuit heightened the high/low, sporty environment of an imagined country estate.

An enchanting sleeveless taffeta trench dress, worn by Erin O’Connor, gracefully swept the catwalk floor.

On-trend items included a tanned silk taffeta puff back dress and a high-waisted trench jacket with cream puff sleeves. Brown silk jersey dresses with striped bandeau waists, in both floor length and above the knee styles, were a nod to the bohemian remnants from a few years prior.

Conran has a definite talent for attracting the English glitterati beyond his family name. His clothes are truly wearable and understated, lending him a large voice in a storm of wild and over-the-top designers.

Jasper Conran

Jasper Conran

Jasper Conran