Fashion: Pure fabrication

STRANGE though it may seem, nylon is no longer simply used to make clammy men's shirts, slimy sheets, and costumes for bad science-fiction series. At Helmut Lang's spring-summer collections, clothes made out of what looked like bin-bag liners were mixed with sheer pink nylon tops and shifts. At Corinne Cobson, the dayglo colours made the clothes look one hundred per cent synthetic, even if they weren't.

Koji Tatsuno, a young Japanese designer based in London, took the Seventies as a starting point for his latest collections, with polyester paisley and marbled prints. Other designers have chosen fabrics resembling Bacofoil, liquid mercury, and sparkly Lurex. Issey Miyake uses acrylic and polyester to make his clothes wrinkle and pleat; another Japanese designer, Junya Watanabe, makes jumpers out of 100 per cent acrylic,

in acid colours, and charges the same prices as if they were purest cashmere.

This is dressing at its easiest. The only accessory needed with a nylon top and trousers is a head of perfectly synthetic, bleached-blonde hair.

(Photograph omitted)