IT TAKES determination and hard work to weather a precarious and fickle fashion industry, but after only eight years Matthew Williamson was awarded the Moët & Chandon fashion tribute for outstanding design talent.

Old Billingsgate market played host on Wednesday night to the event that was undoubtedly a highlight of London Fashion Week: a glamorous dinner and a catwalk retrospective of the designer’s work modelled by the hot face of the moment, Lily Cole, as well as Helena Christensen, Jasmine Guinness and Jodie Kidd.

To reach such a level and not be bought out by an international fashion house — or face bankruptcy — is no mean feat. Fellow designers Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney now work under the umbrella of Gucci group, and John Galliano is installed at Dior. Although, even by his own admission, Williamson admitted that “this sort of recognition feels before my time”. Previous recipients of the award have included the milliner Philip Treacy and Vivienne Westwood.

There to celebrate his success were muses Sienna Miller, wearing the Moët dress — a pink stripe number specially created for the event — and Jade Jagger, both fans of his colourful, ethnic and Ibiza-esque, hippy de luxe designs. The celebrity circus was out in force: Kim Cattrall had dashed in from her West End play and Keira Knightley gushed: “Matthew really makes dresses that come straight out of fairytales .”

Not bad for the boy who left Central St Martins in 1994 and launched his business with his managing director, Joseph Velosa, from a tiny flat in Clerkenwell. Of course it helped that his debut collection in 1997 was modelled by Kate Moss, Helena Christensen and Jade Jagger and was endorsed editorially by British Vogue.

His departure to New York five seasons ago aroused much criticism at home, but the decision to move has certainly paid off and a slick New York sensibility appears to have given his recent collections a sleeker, yet no less colourful, finesse. Recent sales figures estimate that his turnover is valued at £5.2million a year. He sells to 150 stocklists worldwide and is planning to open a new shop in New York in 2006.

Highlights from the evening’s catwalk were chiffon floral, smocked dresses, embroidered capes, loose, printed kaftans and the fuschia baby doll dress that was copied by Asda and sold for hundreds on eBay.

On the final day of London Fashion Week yesterday, it was the turn of this year’s Central St Martins MA students to show their graduate collections. With industry players on the scout for the next big thing in Battersea, notable presentations came from Lee Cleal, who designed brightly printed, contrasting swatch dresses with metallic wing capes and Cleopatra-esque breast plates, and Pascal Fini, whose collection featured only red, sharply tailored jacket and short combos.

Sarah-Ann Creaven won the Harrods prize of £1,000 and a guaranteed window display for her lurid orange macs, printed velour cape jackets and her link motifs on A-line dresses.

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