Ogden reveals vintage fabrics in a Forties setting

In a candlelit Georgian house in deepest Soho, with coal fires burning in every room, women in the most gentle clothes imaginable appeared to be dressing for a demure post-war cocktail party yesterday. This was the showing of the autumn-winter collection by Jessica Ogden, a designer who has in the past staged tea dances and who employs the services of friends of all ages instead of conventional models.

Her silhouettes were, as always, soft – dropped waists, round necklines and narrow shoulders with skirts falling to just below the knees. The colours were antique: dusty rose and old gold and little black dresses scattered with subtle beading. Nothing flashy glamorous or brash could be seen. Rather, a discrete, nostalgic charm was the order of the day, from models' sleek, bobbed hair to their knee-high stockings and Forties-style shoes.

Ogden, 32, is one of a new breed of British designers who eschews the media-courting tactics of their predecessors in favour of developing their labels in a more restrained way. She grew up in Jamaica where the seed for her interest in fashion was sown by her mother, who made all her children's clothes. The daughter's career as a designer didn't start until, while studying for a degree at the Byamshaw School of Art in London, she became involved in Oxfam's No LoGo campaign. It was 1992 and the charity had installed sewing machines in the basement of its Marylebone High Street branch and invited selected designers to come in and transform old garments into something new. After a year working with Oxfam, and frustrated at being unable to choose her fabrics, Ogden set up her own label.

She still works with vintage fabrics – an entire piece might be crafted from them or simply a patch on a full satin skirt. "There's something endearing about those old pieces,'' Ogden has said: "They have a kind of life and I'm just continuing that life. You can read the history, the little pieces of embroidery, the mending, the caring they've received.''

FrostFrench unveiled its collection later in the day in a less thoughtful vein, although it shares Ogden's refusal to install anything so predictable as a catwalk. Instead, Sadie Frost, one part of the label in partnership with Jemima French, produced a 10-minute film shown at Bafta. Frost also called in her friends to wear the clothes, In this case, however, they are Jerry Hall, Helena Christensen and Liberty Ross. Based on life at the circus, it was a cute enough vehicle to promote the lingerie-based collection.