While forecasts for London Fashion Week's a/w '08 season were gloomy—pundits speculated that as-yet-unproven designers and an overbearing euro would sink sales—UK designers didn't seem too distressed. Dismissing the idea of an industry turndown, they turned up the volume by taking on new textures and lengths, collectively showing a stellar season.

All eyes were on Christopher Kane, who needed to maintain his winning streak, and he met the challenge. Kane utilized paillettes to create just about everything: trousers as well as diaphanous tops and dresses, which were particularly stunning when caged under body-skimming chiffons that were simultaneously translucent and reflective. Taken as a whole, Kane's collection was an exercise in craftsmanship and dexterity with different textural elements: leather concertina swirls decorating jackets, beaded cable knits, and smatterings of Swarovski crystals.

Erdem [8] was another hit-maker that held our attention from the first look. Erdem Moralioglu's polished and personal collection delivered expertly printed party dresses, of which our favorites were the full-skirted variety in acidic purple and yellow. (Read our daily Intel from the runway for more on Erdem [9].) Roksanda Ilincic [10], who designs with a similar hyper-elegance in mind, may not have exhibited the same authority in construction as Erdem, but she showed great confidence with styling and color combinations during her presentation at the Great Eastern Hotel. Ilincic's jewel-toned liquid satin dresses will certainly find a commercial audience, and in the meantime she continues to build on an impressive vocabulary of full shapes that she's been developing for a few seasons now.

On a less reserved note, we continue to have a love affair with Gareth Pugh's intensely precocious designs. He showed no restraint in presenting a futuristic, Mad Max-ish collection, which was as over-the-top as usual with chubby furs, fitted leathers and gravity-defying platforms—all incredibly well-crafted. Several looks sported small microcosms of zippers and presumably required a small army for assemblage. We've no idea where Pugh's mad theatrics are headed but his influence certainly isn't lost on us. Many credit Martin Margiela [11] with inspiring design details like the extreme shoulders seen at Jens Laugesen [12], but the extended cubist shapes Pugh has been showing the last two seasons seem a more accurate local influence.

Indeed, one of the key trends to emerge from the week was the heavy use of 3-D elements. Krystof Strozyna [13] arguably took the most forward-thinking approach to 3-D features, focusing on canal-like cut-outs at the bust of stiff white dresses. He placed raised lacquered nuts, bolts and rivets inside the frocks to tell a vertebrae-like story. Standout Louise Goldin, meanwhile, found extra dimension with skiwear-like padded elbows that stood off the body for a thoroughly new-age take on knits. (Read more about Goldin in our daily Intel post [14].)

Speaking of knitwear, one could temporarily forget that global warming is in full effect with all the knits spotted throughout the week. They were seen in tiered, multi-yarned renditions at Basso & Brooke [15], while Meadham Kirchhoff made their opening statement with a sweater dress that hooked at the knee to reign in a floor-length silk jersey dress beneath. Tangy colored knits were cutely combined with purple-plaid schoolgirl skirts and pussy willow furs at House of Holland [16]. And Giles—who got acres of editorial coverage for the super-sized scarves in oversized yarns from his a/w '07 collection—had editors talking again about his delicately distressed woven tops from this season.

But length told the most obvious new trend story. We saw the tide shifting [17] in the spring collections, and the New York shows followed suit with the new silhouette—London, however, owned it. Nary a collection missed the long-is-the-new-sexy direction. Marios Schwab [18] showed only long tube dresses that were an ode to the female form. Issa's long options, on the other hand, were ready to equip us for a post-party stroll on a balmy boardwalk. At Duro Olowu [19], the sweeping floor-length floral and digi-camo printed skirts were what made an impression.

Dresses didn't hit the floor at Armand Basi [20], but the Markus Lupfer [21]-designed presentation did hit on the trend with a below-the-knee silhouette, and added intrigue with full skirts that moved like they had under-wiring. A few designers played it safe with little black dresses, but for the most part the week brought bold designs, and came out swinging in a swirl of sequins, yarns, stretched silhouettes, and three-dimensionality.

—Jason Campbell