Well-known for her fake fur day hats and Ascot creations clients include Princess Michael of Kent and Lady Antonia Fraser

Well-known for her fake fur day hats and Ascot creations; clients include Princess Michael of Kent and Lady Antonia Fraser.H is for Hussein Chalayan, the young avant-garde designer who mixes edgy tailoring with truly original thinking: a rare thing in the fashion world. He first shot into the fashion limelight with his paper dresses made from Tyvek, as well as dresses he buried in his back garden with iron filings. His collections have been inspired by everything from Descartes to flight paths, kite-flying and death. In turn, he has been the source of inspiration for countless other designers, including Calvin Klein in New York.I is for Idol, the label set up in 1989 by New Zealand’s Penny Meachin and Kerrie Hughes. Idol’s clothes look like one-off numbers, with their use of hand-sewn beads and shells, as well as feathers, embroidery and applique The first collection was snapped up by Whistles. It is also stocked by Liberty and sold from Idol’s own small shop in Soho.J is for Jasper Conran.

Jasper is approaching his 20th year of designing under his own name, and although he has kept away from the hype of the London catwalks in recent years (he says he hates fashion shows), he is making a return on Thursday. John Rocha is the Hong Kong-born designer who has built up his own label from his headquarters in Temple Bar, Dublin. His clothes take inspiration from Celtic imagery as well as from Rocha’s Asian roots. This spring, he launches a jeans collection of simple basics.K is for Katharine Hamnett, who set up in business in 1979 and made headlines in 1984 with her “58% don’t want Pershing” T-shirt. Hamnett maintains her high political ground with her use of eco-friendly fabrics and slogans This spring, her message is “Sanction China”. Kirk Originals is a relatively new name in sunglasses and specs frames. Set up by Jason Kirk in 1991, the company specialises in frames made from components from the Sixties.

Kirk Originals opened a shop last year in Covent Garden.L is for Lainey Keogh, the Irish knitwear designer who shows for the first time on a catwalk in London tomorrow All her pieces are hand- knitted from luxurious fabrics. She has been hailed as the Irish answer to Missoni and is very popular in the US, with customers including Demi Moore, Isabella Rossellini, Elizabeth Taylor and Jamie Lee Curtis.M is for Mark Whitaker, the British fashion editor turned fashion designer. Whitaker was fashion editor at GQ, then at New York’s Details magazine Two seasons ago, he launched his own label in New York. For autumn, the collection was entirely in red, with organza slip dresses and vampish leather dresses Whitaker shows his collection on Wednesday.

Miu Miu, affectionately named after the mighty Italian designer Miuccia Prada, is Prada’s new diffusion line. After showing in New York for the past few seasons, Miu Miu is making its London debut on the catwalk tonight.N is for Nicole Farhi, the French designer who has had her own very successful line for14 years. Twice winner of the Contemporary Collections award at the British Fashion Awards, Farhi is a champion of the modern woman’s wardrobe. Her shops and restaurant, Nicole’s at 158 New Bond Street, reflect her clean visual sense, attention to detail, and, most of all, her fresh approach to the “real clothes for real women” aesthetic.O is for Owen Gaster, who showed his first collection in February 1994, which earned him a place among the New Generation designers. He has continued to show his futuristic and hard-edged clothes to a receptive international audience, and sells in LA, New York, London and Manchester His fans include Kylie Minogue and Siobhan Fahey.