UK veteran designer Zandra Rhodes kicks off London Fashion Week

Hot on the heels of New York, London Fashion Week opened Friday with veteran designer Zandra Rhodes setting the standard for the cohort of young designers hoping to make their mark.

The 74-year-old presented her Spring/Summer 2016 collection inside the gilded room at the Cafe Royal hotel, showcasing hand-painted designs in vivid pinks, blues and orange. The collection included plant motifs slapped on trousers and dresses, and translucent pink visors.

The designer took inspiration from the "batik" fabrics of the Far East. "I just want to show people how beautiful hand-painted things are," pink-haired Rhodes told AFP. Leaving behind the institutional luxury of its former Somerset House setting, this year's Fashion Week -- London's 62nd -- will be based in the urban jungle of London's famous Soho entertainment district at Brewer Street Car Park, in the capital's historic red light district.

Seoul-born Jackie JS Lee was the first to unveil her collection at the new venue, showcasing her asymmetric designs accentuated by stripes running in all directions. Her unconventional designs played with geometry, revealing one shoulder or leg at a time, and used colour sparingly. (AFP)