“Katie England was done for a forthcoming Thames & Hudson book on East End fashion, and Tom Waits was taken ten years ago for a music magazine He was a bit grumpy at the time. “I was slightly concerned people would nick them, but it’s part of the fun really. I don’t mind, within reason, so long as they don’t all go on day one.”There are 32 pictures in total, divided into four series. Clunn, whose work is recognisable to Big Beat aficionados from The Propellerheads’ early record sleeves, has included portraits of the KLF and Beth Orton, as well as his idols Lee “Scratch” Perry, George Clinton and Tom Waits, in his Music series. In Portraits, meanwhile, the contrasts continue: you can plonk your pint on Alexander McQueen’s creative director, Katie England, while your mother rests her sherry on June Whitfield.

There’s also London and Travel (which includes a rather beguiling image of a Weymouth beachgoer clutching a giant inflatable whale).”There’s a variety of stuff,” Chunn says. The international fashion press went into a frenzy when they realised these colours weren’t going into production.” Puppy lovers Kula Shaker, Naomi Campbell, Madonna, George Clooney and Jennifer Aniston naturally gave the label a little kudos.One word of warning. Don’t overdo it with the Burberry check or you’ll end up looking like a scary heritage tourist with more money than sense.. “REALLY?” splutters the woman in the Press Office at the Photographers’ Gallery. “Er, well, I suppose there’s a tradition of that sort of thing, from the Readymades… can I get a curator to call you back?”

The alarming art object in question is, quite simply, a coaster. Photographer Chris Clunn has forsaken the formalities and seriousness of a gallery to show his new exhibition on those little squares of plastic your grandma had to protect her walnut veneer from the heated bottoms of teacups, except that these coasters have embarked on a tour of London’s bars and restaurants, and are more likely to be covered by Seabreezes than PG Tips.
“I’ve always liked the idea of alternative viewing,” Clunn says.

When Ashcroft wore a pair of Clarks Wallabee boots on the cover of Urban Hymns, he rubber- stamped “Cool” on Clarks. The over-twenties will remember the horror of Mum dragging you into Clarks for a pair of school shoes and the consequent humiliation in the playground when you wore those shapeless, rubber-soled slabs. Now kids would swap their Nikes for a pair of cult Clarks shoes. Hush Puppies also traumatised a generation of unwilling wearers. This year they featured in a six-page Wallpaper spread and were worn with pride by John Travolta, David Schwimmer and Tim Roth. “The last time Hush Puppies were a cult was the Sixties,” says marketing director Tracy Rist.

“Then, in 1995, US designer John Bartlett commissioned a classic Hush Puppy slip- on dyed to match his collection in lemon, lime and lavender. A photographer like Mario Testino wouldn’t shoot Stella Tennant for Burberrys if it was anything less than A-list and endorsed by US Vogue. Suzy Bick will be the face of Austin Reed for autumn/winter 98. Again, her association with the label indicates that Austin Reed will be the next to join the British hip list.

The autumn collection for Austin Reed features Hepburn-style grey flannel slouch pants and tuxedo-cut jackets, which indicate that Austin Reed are getting there.Kids instinctively avoid stores their parents shop in unless they’ve been given the green light by street style dictators like The Verve’s Richard Ashcroft, the Gallagher boys or the Wu-Tang Clan. There is something so easy and sexy about a cashmere twin- set or a pretty cream satin knife-pleated skirt. We’ve always designed these silhouettes but I think we’ve responded to high fashion by producing the twin sets in pastels and hot pinks as well as the classic neutrals. By tweaking the design subtly, we’ve made Scotch House right for the Nineties.”A major model, like face of Givenchy Honor Fraser, wouldn’t model for Scotch House ad campaigns unless the label was sharp. We will pay for luxury, be that a pashmina scarf or a bright red cashmere tank. What we won’t do is pay double simply because it is cashmere by Calvin. As Bravo says, people are going back to the authentics.”Labels have a life of their own,” says Scotch House MD Sally Ireland “They suffer if they don’t get the attention they deserve.