Flight of fancy

Cashmere cape with hand painted feathers/Image: S.WhittleWhile sometimes overly literal, Irina Shabayeva's Fall 2010 collection, which was shown on Saturday night, was the style manifestation of the designer's desire to "spread her wings and fly into the sky and touch a cloud."

Image: S.Whittle

There was no lack of original detailing among the feather-themed looks which incorporated knits, leathers, and surprisingly, specially engineered materials from Tupperware(r).

While some of the handpainting felt a little Native- American-craft-fair, the dresses showed a new direction for Shabayeva , who in her previous Project Runway life was known mostly as a knit-centric artist.

Phesant feathers give pattern to a cocktail dress/Image: Simon Whittle