Glamour is not the image that immediately springs to mind at the mention of Banbury, but appearances can be deceptive. The walkway over the canal became a catwalk for one night only. Students from Oxford & Cherwell Valley College BA and National Diploma fashion course dressed and paraded their friends before an appreciative audience. The students' work was ambitious and, unsurprisingly, some designs worked better than others.

I spoke to BA course leader Kayla Owen about one I particularly admired. She explained: "Tamsin Evans created her body-hugging high- waisted shorts long before similar items began to appear in the shops." I think Salweha Hansrot's elegant ribbed dress and Lucy Leaper's flattering evening gown are also very commercial. Some outfits were probably for one night only but all had good design elements.

Bobby Seagrate, who lectures on the fashion course, told me how their visit behind the scenes at the V&A. resulted in the serene collection called V&A Vintage.

"Our students had a wonderful time but there was purpose behind it. They were asked to look carefully and reproduce design elements that they liked. They need to examine proportions and learn about modelling on a stand. Technical work is very important for their portfolio and this project raised the standard." The resulting dresses in cream calico were timeless with fine detail in the pleating.

Pleating was used to great effect by Year 2 student Jennifer Harris in her ambitious but successful high cut jacket. I do like clothes that flatter the body - we all want to make the best of ourselves whatever our shape!

The cut of the back of Cheng Low's coat/jacket was pleasing. Hannah Boots also used crisp shapes and the origami influenced folds on her blouse were elegant and wearable. Hayley Bowerman and Francesca Marsala were among the students who had a good eye for colour combinations. Hayley's designs were inspired by cakes -appropriately given the Banbury location.

I hope that some of the innovative patterning used by Valentine Sheik Abdi, among others, makes its way on to the market. The graffito drawing inspired by Tate Modern and the snowflake and contemporary flower patterns in the Little Black Dress parade all worked well. Henna Qureshi successfully used delicate appliqué. For fun, the star of the show, in my opinion, was Margaret Quorn's hoop effect white dress. Kayla Owen summed it up: "I think this year's show was particularly creative and there was strength throughout."