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Guest judge Victoria Beckham joined host Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia and Michael Kors, in judging the collections of five finalists: Kathleen "Sweet P" Vaughn, Chris March, Jillian Lewis, Rami Kashou and Christian Siriano.

Generally speaking, the collections were not in keeping with the mood of disheveled, easy femininity and emphasis on sleek, menswear-inspired tailoring that characterized most of the New York collections this week. Instead, most of the five designers showed overdone show pieces in garish colors and fabrics. Few of the collections felt like coherent, winning statements about the designer's vision and instead seemed to be "made for TV" clothes that seemed to be designed instead to make a splashy impression on camera.

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"Whatever you want to wear is going to work," Lee added. "There's women in full formal dresses and you see guys in jeans."

There were indeed some men in jeans but there were plenty of full-fledged tuxedos. Jay-Z wore a traditional tux, complete with bow tie, by Tom Ford, and Ne-Yo topped his tailored Ferragamo suit with a brown suede fedora. He — like so many others — wore aviator sunglasses, but he was happy to tell E! that his were from Banana Republic instead of a bank-breaking designer.

Seal wore a white suit by Yves Saint Laurent and a skinny black tie, and Chris Daughtry was in all black — suit, shirt and tie. Akon had on a fur-trimmed jacket despite the warm and sunny weather.

Dierks Bentley wore a dapper taupe suit by Dsquared that he complemented with a black tie and black pocket square, while Ludacris added a white pocket square to his black jacket by Armani.

Armani also dressed John Legend. He wore a shawl-collar tuxedo with velvet lapels and a high-neck shirt — and another pocket square.

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Cyndi Lauper wore her now-blond hair in a loose curly updo, and her gown was black with lace around the bust. She also wore long black leather gloves.

Faith Hill played it safe in a one-shoulder black gown and then jazzed it up with oversized earrings, and Natalie Cole chose a flattering draped metallic dress with twisted-fabric straps.

Not everyone took that route, though. Perhaps Adrienne Lau thought her silver slip-style micromini would capture the paparazzi's attention, while Paramore's Hayley Williams might have thought all up-and-coming rock stars wear shocking red hair, a mostly sheer dress and ankle socks.

"I think anything goes in the music industry," said Evanescence's Amy Lee of Grammy fashions. Her own outfit was a black gown with roping on the bodice and a slit up the front that had a bit of a Goth vibe

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Shiny and bright certainly were popular themes with Miley Cyrus in a short silver dress — and a lot of silver eye shadow — and Colbie Caillat in a sunny yellow strapless minidress with a flower in her hair.

With springlike temperatures outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Carrie Underwood went for a floral gown with a plunging V-neck top and jeweled waistband.

Meanwhile, Natasha Bedingfield and Taylor Swift — both in purple strapless dresses — tapped into two trends fresh from the fall runways at New York Fashion Week. (Bedingfield was indeed front and center at fashion shows.)

A blond Nelly Furtado wore an electric-blue draped strapless dress by fellow Canadian Arthur Mendonca, accessorized with a space-age gold necklace.

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Fergie wore a simple and chic yellow strapless gown from the Calvin Klein Collection, while Rihanna went for a bright blue cocktail dress with an unfinished hem with feathers underneath by Zac Posen that was both youthful and fashionable.

Beyonce was the belle of the ball in a strapless number with a silver top and a powder-blue ballgown bottom reminiscent of Cinderella. Even her hair looked lighter.

Alicia Keys wore a dark navy blue gown by Giorgio Armani Prive that recalled old Hollywood with its high halter neck and full train. Her hair was done in a tight updo with curls piled on top of her head and bright hot pink lips, which matched her hot pink crocodile clutch bag.

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Also taking seats at the London event are 10 Chinese publications, including Vogue China, 21 from Japan, 11 from South Korea, 10 from Taiwan and four from India.

Despite dampened retail sentiment, as the recession fears rattle the multi-billion dollar U.S. market, many British designers remain upbeat about demand for their creations.

Jeweller Stephen Webster has boutiques in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Siberia that make his following in Russia greater than anywhere else.

"Anyone with half a brain understands that America, which always used to be the biggest consumer market, is suffering," said his Russian-born wife and business partner Anastasia.

"So the new way is to look to Russia, China, all of the developing markets, because that is the new luxury consumer," she said.

But some designers at Sunday's opening chose to display collections that matched leaner economic times.

Biba played it safe with a collection strong on blacks and dark hues, colors that last longer than a season and always sell better in tougher financial periods when women are looking for styles with staying power.

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So with the London fashion industry still trying to play catch up with more prestigious and commercially successful Paris and Milan, the event's organisers have shifted their focus to the booming East.

"We have attendance from emerging markets and we still have very strong representation from Europe, so it's not all about the United States any more," British Fashion Council chief executive Hilary Riva told reporters.

"The U.S., Europe, Russia, Middle East and Far East are all key markets for our designers," said Riva.

There are more buyers from Asia and the Middle East this year than in the past and the international media list also underlines the shift.

RUSSIAN INTEREST

Fashion editors and photographers from two dozen Russian publications, including Vogue Russia and L'Officiel Russia, are attending the February 10-15 showcase for British fashion

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Buyers from top U.S. firms Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus had jolted London Fashion Week by skipping it this year on grounds that the recession concerns and a strong pound had made Britain's designers too expensive.

Graeme Black, who unveils his autumn-winter collection on Friday, caters for the Russian elite who think nothing of a shopping trip abroad and have made their country the world's fastest growing emerging market for luxury goods.

"In Russia there is an amazing excitement, a euphoria for things that are new," Black said in an interview with Reuters.

"They don't mind spending money but want something very special and unique. There's no price resistance," said Black.

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