London Fashion Week Shows Its Kooky Side Stephane Feugere Stella McCartney, autumn/winter 2012, in London. LONDON - With male dancers sweeping up models from their chairs and depositing them on the dinner tables, and a magician performing sawing-the-woman party tricks, Stella McCartney's evening dress show lived up to London fashion's reputation as fun, funky and fabulous. All the energy of the city is being captured by designers whose irreverence and energy masks a well-organized fashion week. The 2012 winter season includes a "rock vault" for fine jewelry, a continuing focus on sustainability and a film to showcase the movies that span art and fashion. This year is also the celebration of a decade of support from Topshop, which has done so much to nurture young talent. It is the kooky side of London style that charms and inspires, from the mad outfits put together by creative fashionistas on the streets to the originality on the runways. That the Stella McCartney catwalk was nonexistent was part of the charm. The designer called on her friend Rihanna to drum up excitement for that coming Hollywood moment: the Academy Awards next Sunday. Oscar-worthy dresses included last season's black dress with curving inserts of sheer chiffon, as worn by Kate Moss; and the colorful outfits from jumpsuits to printed dresses that prove Ms. McCartney's once sporty touch to be strong for after dark. A balloon fest of inflated gilded "padlocks" and two beast-like creatures greeted guests at Mulberry "s show Sunday. Add the American singer-sensation Lana Del Rey, sitting front row to publicize not her "Video Games" music but a namesake handbag. Almost every outfit had a bag - Mulberry's forte - but the designer Emma Hill created a fun collection of Mongolian lamb coats and vests and other hairy separates inspired by Maurice Sendak's book "Where the Wild Things Are." London also has a quiet and considered style. Marios Schwab called his woman "a voyeur," an observer half- concealed behind a hat and half-revealed in dresses where a tracery of stitches at the waist focused on the sinuous shape. The curving, chiaroscuro effect of the spring season developed for fall into more definite colors and textures: lace, perhaps embellished with iridescent sparkles; textured velvet with leather pockets; and a flash of green at the hem, developing later as pale shades of pistachio. The grace and gentility - so different from London's more raucous side - puts Mr. Schwab into a class of his own. Spiky hair, with upstanding cap peaks and mixes of lace with shiny silver leather, brought a touch of the wild from Simone Rocha . Her fusion of craftsmanship and cool, of dainty lace with hairy fur and curly wool, made her show a standout for originality and attitude. Founded on neo-romantic knitwear and original prints, Clements Ribeiro riffed on those same subjects but with more subdued patterns and a tougher attitude. A lean line, with slim skirts or pants, was part of a graphic style that included geometric blocks of vivid color, especially effective as intarsia patterns on sweaters. Big hair, a Russian vibe with Moscow's onion domes as prints - Issa London "s collection took a bold, sexy step away from the wrap dresses favored by the Duchess of Cambridge, the former Kate Middleton. Jumpsuits and caftans, as well as sensual body-clinging dresses, suggested that the designer Daniella Helayel was looking more to her native Brazil than to winter in London - or Moscow. The rodeo is calling! In cowboy hats and bucking bronco horses, the America West galloped through Kinder Aggugini "s show. His horsey people were taken from a wallpaper print, part of what the designer called "appropriation" of culture and image. But used intelligently as a front panel or just as a patch of pattern at the shoulders, it made for a well-balanced look. Todd Lynn was first known for his lean tailoring. But the designer is now branching out - not from his narrow silhouette but to slim dresses. He also added colors like rust, olive green and blue to warm up his chic severity. Hip? Fun? Check! Colorful? Fatal attraction for the princess of cool, Alexa Chung? Henry Holland's House of Holland collection of body-conscious clothes in vivid stripes, zigzag and enlarged houndstooth checks is as "London" as it gets. Jumpsuits, military overalls, skinny dresses and flared pants made up a dizzy array of clothes. Not to be taken too seriously. But fun.