Now that we have vintage firmly in our wardrobes it seems hard to move on but move on we must if the fashion world is to continue its ever-turning cycles. Rather than authenticate the cut and fit of vintage, fashion houses are replicating the aged imagery and using old-fashioned florals on thoroughly modern silhouettes to tremendous effect for the new summer season.
 Florals occasionally lose their popularity. They didn't stand a chance during the Op Art-directed Sixties and went abstract; Punk ignored their existence and the power eighties thought them weak. But during every mainstream movement there's always a pocket of resistance and you'd find it in special occasion or bridal guest departments. What a shame to be so sidelined. Florals brighten the day, announce the spring and enliven the spirit, just like the real thing, and there seems to be a real interest and joy in fashion to experiment with them once again. We've been in plains so long we need to drink in colour. A chance conversation during London Fashion week with the designers at Liberty's was enlightening. They're dipping into their archives with renewed vigour and playing with scale. And it wasn't just clothes and accessories they were talking about, it was homeware and `lifestyle' departments, such is the renewed interest in the familiar. In both fashion and homeware, the colour palette is the genuine evocative article. Colours are reminiscent of afternoon tea and cake, living room curtains, tea towels, aprons and interiors and objects made popular by homeware guru Cath Kidston, who trades blatantly and beautifully on nostalgia. There's a certain appeal in the colours of nostalgia. We're familiar and comfortable with it; it appeals to our comfort zone. But because many of these graphic styles are from the 1920s to the 1950s, the distance in time is sufficient enough for us to feel it's a fresh approach rather than a direct copy. Initially, the reproduction technology wasn't available when these prints were first used to inject anything other than a natural palette, but this could be all set to change. A more recent conversation with Liberty's reveals why the entire store still has enormous untapped potential - which it'll reveal in stages as seasons progress. "Initially we are looking at our heritage prints; the Art Nouveau Ianthe (like the foliage of the lily) and the Hera peacock feather. We're using them and making them very `now' by an infusing of high-voltage colour," says a spokesman. Let's first get accustomed with `the familiar' vintage-style prints and palette. High-voltage colour won't seem so mind blowing when it arrives, but we'll be ready. | 
Fashion
Gardening