Retro Americana at Jasper Conran’s London show

LONDON (AP) — Who needs shoes when there’s a catwalk made of grass?

Departing from his usual pared-down contemporary style, Jasper Conran’s new season preview Saturday had models walking barefoot to a retro Americana theme: Psychedelic flowers, blue jeans, stars and stripes, Woodstock and multi-colored patchwork.

The look was part cool cowgirl, part folksy flower children. There were denim vests, shorts and straight-cut jeans, some embroidered with flowers and doves, others adorned by a silver-sequined hem. Later models wore crochet, patchwork or kaleidoscope print dresses.

Prints were childlike and irreverent (think huge print of a cherry on a white shirt) and the palette was as cheerful as it gets: Bubblegum pink, coral, mustard, lime, and a tangerine that Conran called “Fanta orange.”

Conran was one of the first designers to show at London Fashion Week in the early 1980s. He has since branched out to design everything from bridal wear to wallpaper and bone china tableware.