News Coverage:

The Latest from London
By Sasha Wilkins

LONDON, Feb 25, 2002/ --- Fab Four: Channel Four puts its money where its mouth is. The arts-biased television station already bankrolls Fashion East, the showcase program to support new talent in British fashion design.

Now it has decided to commission new designers to produce limited edition T-shirts for the station.

Design team House of Jazz will put out the first T's - incorporating the number four, as all in the collection will - to celebrate their own involvement in Fashion East.

Inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead, the black House of Jazz "4Ever" T-shirt features an embroidered four, and a vibrant screen-printed tree and skull design.

It is designed to reflect the team's fall/winter 2002 collection.

The shirts are available at Selfridges and from the Channel Four website.

The Fashion East show, featuring Emma Cook and Camilla Staerk as well as House of Jazz, took place Thursday, February 21.

Fashion 411: Timex has relinquished its sponsorship of the telephone information line for Fashion Week, and luxe watch company Omega has taken its place. The line provides all the latest news on show start times.

Judging by yesterday's series of late-starting shows, the Omega Timeline - 020-7225-2257 - will be a good friend to frenzied, cell phone toting fashion editors this week.

No Respect: Perhaps someone would like to tell the security outside the West Lawn Tent that fashion editors and photographers are not animals, and would appreciate being treated with a little civility?

Locking the gates to the waiting area and making ticketed guests and photographers stand outside on the cold pavement for 10 minutes after the fashion coaches have arrived - as security staff did last night before the Arkadius show - is more likely to start a fracas than avoid one.

One photographer, his patience stretched to the breaking point by the appalling treatment was heard to shout: "We have a job to do, just like you. Only in London does this in happen - why can't you treat us with more respect?"

Cutting Edge: Roland Mouret has been awarded his fifth consecutive VS Sassoon Award for Cutting Edge Talent. The £25,000 (about $35,000) bursary is designed to support young British designers by building their business over time.

The Award was launched in September 1999; previous winners include Scott Henshall, Emma Cook, Eley Kishimoto and Blaak.

Roland Mouret presented his fall/winter 2002 collection today at Christie's at 5:30.

In the Bag: The most popular accessory at London Fashion Week so far is a beige fringed bag from Jigsaw's new accessory line.

The bargain bag (about $93) was spotted swinging from the shoulders of no less than six fashion editors at the Maria Grachvogel show on Sunday evening.

Click on links to view the runway shows for London Fashion Week Fall 2002