While other designers are feting trainers and sportswear, Giambattista Valli's collection remains distinctly dressed up for autumn. Literally, in fact, in as far as there were no trousers in the mix at all and hemlines were emphatically above the knee.

Instead, he focused on coats, dresses and coordinating shell tops and skirts, all in a princessy skater line of fitted tunic uppers and full but short skirts, some with dropped waists. These came in monochromatic yarns with a look of TV static and abstract animal graphics on textured wool, panelled contrastingly front and back. Some had fur patches, others were full mink in a soft pink and a bright red.

There was silvered fur in the mix too, as a skirt worn with matching top that would make a modern sort of drinks party get-up, and quilting, swirled over with more monochrome splashes. Later, the silhouette came with a techy moulded shoulder, cocoon-ish but resolutely hourglass shape, and rendered in twinkling lurex thread.

Though it may seem easily categorised as a girlish, glamorous brand, there was still something decisively modern - even casual - about the way Valli went about creating the effect: unpredictable prints; ragged use of appliqué to make a high-end long-sleeved T-shirt; a square cut for each skirt - sometimes layered with chiffon - that created a side split which draped on some pieces and was structured into panniers on others.

Giambattista Valli has a specific customer - one who wants to dress in an overtly feminine way but asks for something more than the usual tropes, and doesn't want to look like she's tried too hard at it. For autumn, Valli updated the look considerably, so she'll be more than happy.