Trapped in the closet

By Alex Fury, 16:59 Thu 05 Nov 2009

La Dolce (e Gabbana) Vita

Riccardo Tisci punks up pretty for Givenchy

Chris Kane's tango/foxtrot moment

Remove concerns over sales or wearability - and even worries about models making it down the catwalk - and what do you get? A wardrobe suitably fit for a fairy princess, and the ideal inspiration for our flight of fashion fantasy. An understated work-a-day wardrobe this is not - these custom-designed creations each bear the unmistakable stamp of the design house behind them, ready to see you through cocktail hour to grand opera to red carpet (and beyond!). Take Dolce e Gabbana's Dolce Vita corsetted bosom-heaver of a chintzy prom frock, boned to within an inch of its life, smothered in bobbin-lace and knotted up with a black satin bow for good measure. If you fancy frolicking in the Trevi fountain, nothing would suit you better. Likewise, Riccardo Tisci's rather goth-ier imagining for Givenchy - silk tulle, frothed ostrich and silken blooms with all the femininity of Comte Hubert's famed 'Bettina' blouse punked-out with chunky golden studs. As for that catwalk comment - well, wait until you see Valentino's singular idea of a Little Black Dress (it may be black, it may be a frock, but little it ain't). My favourite? A toughie, but I'd raise my paddle for Christopher Kane's flapper frock - party Great Gatsby, part Dame Barbara Cartland (nay, Dame Edna) in her pastel-hued prime. Sprouting feathers, dripping with diamanté and saccharine-sweet in periwinkle, sugar-pink and lemon, it's perfect for those 'Strictly' moments, as my mother would say.