Water soluble fashion by Chalayan

It’s always a tragedy when you get caught in the rain wearing expensive designer duds – especially when you’ve already got a pile of clothes waiting to be dry cleaned. But designer Hussein Chalayan has an unexpected solution.

Two models stood on a raised platform for the first half of the show, wearing stiff-looking, collared overcoats. Then, after a shower, the garments appeared to simply melt away. Underneath, the white dresses were encrusted with Swarovski jewels and intricate black appliqués; not exactly the type of frocks you'd want to get anywhere near heavy rain or a showerhead. Chalayan's follow-up to these surprise-ending dresses is par for the course for the unconventional designer. His first dance production, a contemporary piece about identity and displacement, will debut in London later this month.