Focusing on ideas of duality and optical illusion, the A/W ’12 collection from 3.1 Phillip Lim is a masterclass on understated chic. Working vastly in black and white with splashes of cobalt and orange (which is turning out to be a serious A/W ’12 colour trend), Lim has presented an effortless and interesting collection.

If you read our report on Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B. collection, you’ll know we love enlarged dogtooth. So we really love Lim’s use of the motif on a pair of adorable sweater dresses. We also love the interlocking, almost Tetris, block effects on some of the other knitted pieces, creating grown up but innovative knitwear.

This collection also brings us one of those staple ‘optical illusion’ panelled dresses, and while we can’t say for certain, we think that Lim’s version might just beat Stella Macartney, because of its modest elegance and easy chic.