Roksanda Ilincic has come an awfully long way in a seemingly short space of time. Now adored by a legion of women - largely the chic London party set - her status as the go-to woman for an evening gown stands absolutely concrete, and she proved it again with her S/S 2010 show during London Fashion Week.

But this is the problem we've always had with her. Brilliant as she is in what she does, her clothes are for a specific individual, with a lifestyle very unlike ours. Or most people's. This, coupled with her love of satin (not our favourite fabric by a long shot) has always made us less gushing about her work than most reviewers, but we were a little surprised with this collection to find ourselves ooh-ing and ahh-ing over a number of pieces.

We weren't, obviously, wild about the peach satin, some of which seemed a bit bulky and engulfed the models, but we really liked the inclusion of metallics, and the fact there were a few short hemlines in the mix. We're always suckers for a bit of theatre too, and the Josephine Baker-esque feathered shoes that had a spray of black feather around the ankle were beautifully dramatic.*

Overall, the standout pieces for M.E. were a fabulously constructed 80s peplumed cocktail dress with gauzy panels and a flash of gold around the waist, and an almost medieval gilded shift with a sheer black top half that appeared to be extremely well cut and shaped in the skirt area.

We're going to wait and see where this slightly new direction takes Roksanda Ilincic because whilst we don't expect her to give up the sheeny satin for now, it may herald a period of experimentation with other fabrics. And given her cutting skills, we're excited about that.

* - That said, there was one feather head-dress paired with an inky molten evening frock that had far too much of a demure Bob Mackie about it, but we're going to let that one go because a sixty-something Cher might like it and we love Cher for her chutzpa.