Here's a funny coincidence: as the Labour party conference drew to an end in Brighton this week, and Gordon Brown exhorted his colleagues and supporters to "show fighting spirit" and "get on the front foot", a young British designer in Paris was doing what the prime minister preached. Sometimes things happen this way in fashion.

The designer was Gareth Pugh, a name traditionally associated with the far left wing of the style world: the sector where concept trumps clothes every day. In the past, Pugh, 28, who came to Paris from London just a few seasons ago, was known for holding shows that were not, in fact, shows, but movies, or that featured garments so obscure and outsized (often complete with balloon body parts or latex masks) that they looked more like window displays than plausible additions to a wardrobe. This season, however, he stopped being part of the fringe party.