LONDON - Tweeds, striped sweaters, fur and military green coats with a dash of pink formed the basis for a very British and extremely wearable autumn-winter 2009 collection from Paul Smith here on Monday.

The legendary British designer fashioned skirts, macks and dresses out of rose print fabrics and strong floral mixes at his London Fashion Week catwalk show, matching them with a striped sweater and wool tights in autumnal colours.

Some were modified with a military-style gold tassel on one shoulder, a theme that ran through the collection with army green and khaki shirt dresses, ribbed sweaters with shoulder patches and military coats with jewel finishes.

But Smith ensured the collection stayed fun by adding hot pink piping to khaki trousers and a pink tie to an all-green ensemble.

'It was a very 'Paul Smith' collection, for example mixing prints and patterns and patterns with patterns,' the designer told AFP after the show.

'I would call it a very wearable collection, but also because of this climate of recession, I wanted to have optimistic colours. I like the idea of colours, that's why the bright pinks were there.' Added touches like beads and belts made of jewels were intended to be a cheap way 'to beat the mood' of the global downturn, Smith said.

He said the recession had caused sales in Japan, one of his biggest markets, to fall by six percent in the past year and prompted the company to freeze plans to open any more shops beyond those planned for Paris and San Francisco.

'Business around the world will reduce enormously, not just the fashion business but all businesses,' Smith said, adding that success in the current dire economic climate meant sticking to what you know.

'We've had a successful business so you don't rock the boat, you stick with it and just carry on,' he said. -- AFP