Roving Reporter: Herve Leger by Max Azria

Herve Leger dresses are still the talk of the town. They've filtered down the celebrity hierarchy, from A- to C-list celebs all wanting their own. These body-con bandage dresses are not for the meek. Entirely contoured, these lil numbers will have you off carbs for life, as they're totally unforgiving. Part of me reckons that celebrity ladies love them for the chance to hold the all-important competition of skinniness. The last offering from Herve Leger was bold, bright and quite 80s in its acidity.

This time round, Max Azria has brought the LBD (little bandage dress) bang up to date with a much richer colour palette for fall. Bronze, gold, gunmetal and black made based the collection, and though the fitted silhouette remained, the actual detailing developed well.

As with other designers this week, Azria went for a strong shoulder, and with the metallic weave being an all-important feature, I got the impression that armour had been an inspiration. The shoulders here were less 80s, however, and had a more futuristic Balenciaga feel.

Naturally, the collection was made up entirely of dresses that skimmed the thighs of slender models. Totally body-con, this is a total Hollywood look. Hair was tied back, and these chic little dresses were pared down with black patent boots, adding a slight rock vibe to the otherwise glamorous collection.

There was a greater move towards embellishment this season, unlike the last run of Herve Leger, which was purely iconic for its bandage design. This season, fabrics had incredible metallic weaves (think Missoni) and were embellished with sequined discs, crystal beads and leather inserts.

Overall, I definitely feel that Azria has managed to develop the successful bandage dresses to form a collection that was less novel and more design-driven. Beautiful detailing will keep women ready to flash the cash for something so well thought-out, while still in keeping with the infamous silhouette.