The buyer: Averyl Oates, fashion buying director, Harvey Nichols

What did you invest in heavily for Spring?
Christopher Kane is proving to be one of the city's most promising talents, and we have been overwhelmed by this season's performance. Customers have loved his biker jackets in both cashmere and leather, and the sheer ruffled dresses have also had a fantastic reaction.

What's been your biggest seller so far?
One of the season's highlights has to be shoes. Customers were calling in early requesting for their names to be wait-listed on key styles as soon as shows were posted on Style.com. Fortunately, heavy increases were projected on Lanvin, Balenciaga, Chloé, and McQueen, so we could ensure that our customers were kept satisfied. The Dries Van Noten Masai beaded sandals made a new record as the most requested style, and the intriguing upside down shoe from Marc Jacobs barely hit the shop floor before they all sold out. Our newcomers Nicholas Kirkwood and Alejandro Ingelmo have been very well-received, and we have had to increase our Fall buys in order to keep up with demand.

What had the longest waiting list?
Generally we have an extremely high demand for Lanvin. Despite significantly increasing the buy for Spring '08, we struggled to satisfy all of the customers on our waiting lists. Again, the items the Harvey Nichols customers were crying out for were the on-trend brightly colored dresses, such as looks 21 through to 23. Lanvin jewelery is incredibly popular, and customers are lining up to get their hands on the show pieces; it's challenging to fulfill such a significant waiting list.

What are your customers asking for when they come in?
As well as loving the trend for bright colors, sheer and floral fabrics have been in high demand. Most of the floral Balenciaga catwalk pieces have been pre-sold, as well as those from Giles and Dries Van Noten.