It was two seasons ago that Miuccia Prada set the ball rolling in her usual way. For the autumn of 2007 she wowed crowds not with elaborate cuts or silhouettes, but with a textiles extravaganza: plasticised and boiled mohairs, Shetland satin – a jaw-dropping fabric that fades from puckered rich silk to dense wool in one sheet – and hand-painted treated wool coats. It's a path she's continued on in subsequent collections via romantic organza prints by artist James Jean, to this autumn's artisanal lace.

“For me fabric is 90 per cent of the mental work in design,” she says. “It's where I spend most of my time because the quality of the fabric is fundamental. When I get the fabric done, the show is done, I am at ease.”

And while most of us are still enjoying our summer wardrobes – most that is unless you happen to live in London where unseasonal conditions have led to a show of thick black tights and cashmere sweaters, fast forward to the coming season where technicaly advanced fabrics come to the fore.