British Fashion Week welcomes return of the designer who disappeared from view

WITH LESS than a week to go before her much-awaited comeback to the London catwalks, Tracy Mulligan and her team have gone into overdrive. On Friday afternoon, models were arriving for fittings; it was the moment of truth.

Seeing a collection on paper, or hanging on a rail is altogether different to seeing it worn on the body. But Ms Mulligan needs to perfect every tiny detail. A designer only has so many lives and this time, the collection has to be a commercial and creative success.

The last time Ms Mulligan showed on the catwalks of London Fashion Week was as part of the design duo, Sonnentag Mulligan in 1995. They had emerged in September 1992 - as part of the fashion explosion that gave us Alexander McQueen, Clements Ribeiro, Hussein Chalayan and Sonja Nuttall - and were feted by the press for their first seasons.

Their clothes captured that elusive mixture of the modern and the wearable - simple shapes designed by women for women. However, in 1995, the designers made the disastrous decision to take a year out and were unable to finance production of their final collection together for spring/summer 1996. The partnership broke up. Barbara Sonnentag moved to a job abroad, while Ms Mulligan found work designing for a British high-street label.

Last season, however, Ms Mulligan made a quiet comeback on her own. She showed away from the catwalks, inviting some key buyers to have a look at her first solo collection. They liked what they saw.

Saks Fifth Avenue put in an order, as did Harvey Nichols and Colette in Paris. Suddenly, Ms Mulligan was back on the fashion map with her clothes in three large stores. Two weeks ago, she was one of the designers invited to celebrate the British Invasion promotion at Saks in New York.

With little media coverage, her clothes are selling beyond her wildest dreams. In an overcrowded market, she has found a niche with her simple, easy, modern garments. Now she feels ready to face the sharp pencils of the press and the focused lenses of the catwalk photographers again.

When Sonnentag Mulligan bowed out of London Fashion Week, British fashion was on the verge of its moment of cool. In the three years since then, some of our young and most happening designers have had a chance to develop and mature. So, too, have their businesses. Mr McQueen has his Givenchy contract with LVMH, and show sponsorship from American Express to thank for his new commercial stability; Hussein Chalayan has developed a relationship with high-street retailer Arcadia and created a range for Top Shop as well as a new label for American cashmere giants, TSE.

Like Ms Mulligan, Ms Nuttall took a break from the catwalk for a few seasons while she consolidated her business. Her clothes are now sold from Selfridges in London to Barneys in New York. Clements Ribeiro meanwhile, have signed a deal with the Italian manufacturer Staff International enabling them to focus on design rather than struggle to supply their own samples every season.

Meanwhile, Ms Mulligan is concentrating on Friday's show. Her label will allow her to establish a menswear collection, too. "I feel as though I am doing everything right this time," she says.

The show is being sponsored by Marks & Spencer, as part of the New Generation showcase, and the collection itself is being manufactured by the Italian design group, Erreuno. "It means I can focus on the collection," she says. "I'm just being true to myself, not performing for the catwalk. I feel I'm back where I belong."