Campbell's charity show brings light relief to fashion week

Last night's Fashion For Relief charity show couldn't have been further from London's reputation as a home to cutting-edge, experimental new designers.

Organised by Naomi Campbell to raise money for The White Ribbon Alliance fund to promote safe childbirth, of which Sarah Brown, the Prime Minister's wife, is patron, the event featured names such as Cilla Black, Tracey Emin and Vivienne Westwood modelling clothes by the likes of Chanel and Christian Dior, which were later auctioned. With an atmosphere that was part MTV awards show, part Royal Variety Performance, the audience abandoned the usual show protocol of critical impassivity in favour of cheering on the celebrity models. After all, it was for charity.

Earlier in the day, and back on the official London Fashion Week schedule, Betty Jackson reassured fashion lovers that there is no obligation to relinquish black when the sun comes out. The British designer offered a typically understated alternative yesterday. A sack dress with a high neck, a sheer lace dress over big knickers and long-fitted maxi skirts all came in black. Olive provided another subdued, yet sophisticated, note on a loose sack dress with tie front, roomy tops and a breezy dress with fluted shoulders. There were splashes of colour in this very pared-down, coherent collection, however, via orange, blue and a lemon-yellow silk dress with a crayon scribble pattern. Loose, high-waisted trousers and oversized drawstring tops were decidedly Eighties in shape.

Of course, any nod to the decade would be incomplete without a jumpsuit – a garment that has been doing its best to make a comeback – and Jackson provided a persuasive argument in the form of a khaki all-in-one with fluted shoulders.

Another elegant jumpsuit came from Richard Nicoll, who showed a taupe version with a sash over one shoulder and a single asymmetric strap over the other. The boldest statement came from the pink pieces that opened the show. A long blazer, pale pink and fuschia T-shirt dress and a short silk dress in colour blocked shades of pink showed that Barbie's favourite colour can exude a clean, modern, pastel-free femininity.

A more cartoonish take on spring/summer characterised the House of Holland collection. The model Agyness Deyn, a friend of the much-hyped designer Henry Holland, wore a black-and-white spotty lycra body and sheer silk, floral patterned jeans, while carrying a white handbag with giant white spots. The effect of the giant polkadots and candy-coloured florals was fun at the time, but ultimately too sickly sweet. The clothes were partly inspired by the television show Beverly Hills 90210.