The Temperley London Fall 2014 collection included flouncy jacquard skirts and blanket-size scarves draped like robes and reined in by belts. She played matchmaker to an Art Nouveau floral print and Byzantine mosaic patterns, and the offspring packed a wallop of a pretty punch. Indeed, Temperley continues to position the line as a bridge between the sumptuously decorative past—even more widely romanticized these days thanks to Downton Abbey—and an arty bourgeois present.

Katie Shillingford returned to style the collection, adding insouciant attitude. Coats appeared atop coats and shirttails were left untucked. But Temperley’s freshest idea by far was the use of a fine micro-quilting technique for her eveningwear, a welcome departure from her default embellished organza. At this rate, winterized red-carpet attire might prove a burgeoning niche.