Another inspirational season of catwalk shows has come to a close, and what a dazzling showcase of British design talent it has been!

With 56 runway shows squeezed into just 5 days, fashion royalty Tom Ford showing for the first time in London, Julien Macdonald making a return to LFW and the London debut of L’Wren Scott (complete with dinner at the Café Royale co-hosted by her boyfriend, Mick Jagger) it certainly didn’t disappoint the eager global fashion crowd with a whirlwind of excitement, celebrity and creativity.

Unable to go this year I had to make do with drooling over the weird and wonderful creations from the confines of my desk. No way near as exhilarating but certainly a lot warmer!

Of course the usual suspects were there in the prestigious front row, strategically placed to gain maximum exposure for themselves and the fashion brand on show!

The emergence of young British ‘Model of the year’, Cara Delevingne, as “the next Kate Moss”  has created quite a buzz, consequently she could be seen on all the major runways….

But the celebrity limelight it seems was stolen by none other than Rihanna as the pop singer unveiled her first collection for British retailer River Island. The British press has reported she is being paid around $1.2 million to front the collection, not bad considering she probably didn’t design a single piece of it!!

But that’s enough about the glory hunting celebrities, it’s London’s designers that are the real stars of the show!

So what were the emerging trends for this winter? Monochrome had a huge presence at numerous shows, black & white was everywhere. But as an antidote to the black & white theme, colour makes an unexpected appearance with bold and bright yellow, pink, green, orange and blue popping up all over the place. Yep, no more dull winters in grey and somber shades, winter 2013 is set to be a surprisingly rainbow bright affair! But if neon winters are not your thing, never fear, a deep palette of burgundy, wine, navy and bottle green was also very popular. Other key trends include metallics, colour blocking, animal print (leopard and zebra in particular), polished tailoring, boxy jackets, cut-out detailing, shiny PVC, tribal patterns, florals and stripes.

Here are some favourite outfits from my pick of the most beautiful, creative and contemporary collections on show this year.

Like works of sculpted art, David Koma’s stunningly constructed collection was inspired by sound, rhythm and movement.

Fun-loving chic with a touch of humour, Ashish’s collection is a visually ironic take on urban/rural work wear.

An absolutely gorgeous collection by Christopher Bailey at Burberry. Cute sweet-heart prints, stylish leopard print and trench coats with metallic silver, bronze and gold panelling detail, this collection is among the most wearable, chic, feminine and flirty. Love it!

As always, a beautiful collection from Matthew Williamson, full of vibrant colour and glamour.

Stunning, elegant and contemporary, Sass & Bide worked the monochrome, metallic and cut-out trends with a vibrant splash of bright yellow throughout. Born out of an exploration into internal structures and mechanics, the collection references industrial frameworks and mechanical notions which are sensualised by contrasting elements of nature.

Beautiful bold graphics and creative pattern cutting, the collection focuses on architectural structure of both nature and man, mapped around the female form.

More monochrome at KTZ with some acid brights and a nod to the occult.

Prints don’t come more retro than these! HOH must have looked to 70s style lounge walls for these bad boy graphics!

All time favourite Vivienne Westwood never disappoints, cleverly constructed, edgy glamour is what she does best.

Acid brights and sharp, feminine tailoring add a new aura to powerful dressing at PPQ.

You can always rely on Julien Macdonald for unashamed sparkle and glamour. This collection sees the use of metallics in a big way creating sexy, high octane clothes for powerful, liberated women.

A fun and sassy collection from Moschino with monochrome, bold animal prints and bright girly pink.

And of course it just wouldn’t be fashion week without some outlandishly conceptual creations. Here’s a look at one of the more eccentric British designers, Pam Hogg, and her take on fashion for winter 2013. Clearly warmth and practicality are not high on her list of priorities! I don’t think I’ll be adding any of her range to my winter wardrobe in a hurry!

And so, 1000 air kisses and a tonne of hairspray later, life gets back to normal as the fashion pack jet off to Milan for the next round of catwalk creations and autumnal trends, Italian style.