It’s about clothes that will stand away from the body complimenting the body shape but not following the body line

It’s about clothes that will stand away from the body; complimenting the body shape but not following the body line. Helmut Lang has been playing with the dirndl shape for the past few seasons. The real story is the new emphasis on the waist and a move away from the cleavage and the bare back.”Certainly, many is the woman who has seen Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth and yearned for the rustle of taffeta and the romanticism of skirts that look as if they’ve been pumped full of air. It was said of the great couturier Cristobal Balenciaga that he sculpted to fit the air around a woman’s body. It is a concept both Yohji Yamamoto and Issey Miyake play with.But none of this is very helpful when you have a life to live.

Fashion became more body conscious and enclosed because we were effectively streamlining for a faster life. The days when 15 yards of wool crepe can be gathered into a Dior New Look skirt are gone. One of Yamamoto’s coarse-knit bell skirts does indeed look romantic and rural when Maggie Rizer is romping through the Scottish highlands and Paolo Roversi is taking her picture. In a contemporary context – for example, downtown New York – you’d be mistaken for a Hungarian refugee.So why does Yohji do it? And why does American Vogue give Hussein Chalayan’s cherry red prom dress a double page spread in the November issue? Of what use is it all to you and me? Let’s call it an extreme fashion forecast, an indicator of the way shapes are going.

Harriet Quick is quite correct in her reading of the catwalk smoke signals Clothing will move away from the body. We can all smugly snuggle into our quilted nylon zip front tanks and already be on top of the trend. But already nylon skate pants (by Aura Dimon), floor-length quilted jackets (at McQueen menswear) and skirts (by Elspeth Gibson) are padded with the finest layer of wadding, giving them a life and movement beyond the body.Nobody is suggesting you will be investing in a 20-layer gauze petticoat to stuff under a circular-cut skirt; not unless you are auditioning for The Ronettes’ comeback tour, anyway. No, what we have seen already is a move away from the straight-up pencil skirt. There’s an asymmetric hem, a side split or that bit of volume in the designer versions already Maybe the skirt will pretty up into the circular cut. But judging by the abject failure of the knife-pleated skirt for autumn/winter 98, I don’t think modern women are ready for skirts that explode from the waist and sit uneasily on the knee.

The full skirt and skinny rib sweater for evening is, however, a way of reintroducing a little bit of extravagance and luxe to the winter wardrobe After dark, full is fine Before twilight? We’ll take a rain check.. The Government is planning to reverse parts of the care in the community mental health policy, so was it a failure? No, says David, a schizophrenic; it has allowed him to lead a normal life, to have a job and to marry. Not everyone has been so lucky, says Diana, a depressive; the policy continues to fail many, and sometimes with tragic results

David believes care in the community has allowed him to live a normal life despite suffering from schizophrenia.
I manage to lead a relatively normal life, which is what I want. Being in hospital is not a pleasant experience: you’re not in control of your illness or your life. It can be very painful, especially during the first few days. I’ve only ever been a short stay patient, for a few weeks at a time, but I have had to go in about 10 times.I haven’t needed to go into hospital for five years, and I’m capable of leading an independent life.