MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA X H&M: A TRICK OF THE EYE

The colour nude and Trompe L'Oeil are two trademark tricks up the sleeve of Maison Martin Margiela, so this little tattoo top ticks two boxes you never thought you wanted ticked - but love it regardless.

With a fit like a glove - a rubber glove, for that matter - it's second skin, covered in cat faces, checker print, razors, little lines counting who knows what, and all sorts of decorative circles. The colour of the ink is exactly halfway between turquoise and teal, not something you are after when it comes to abstract print but still bold and flattering.

Now, MMM and H&M launched this collection on 15th November, with mock protests in the streets of Paris and London, and with lots of people camped out in front of stores queueing up for numbered wristbands. Luckily, where I was, you could breeze into the store after work on launch day, pile up everything you wanted to try on and spend the evening, quite undisturbed, reporting live from the fitting rooms if that was your thing.

My biggest favourites were the narrow shoulder blazer (I got my hands on it in a size EU 32, feeling outrageously lucky), the grey and black sock sweater I never saw anywhere near me, and the men's leather belt jacket, which, in my haste, forgot to check out. Anyway, here is a winter outfit featuring the tattoo top, a re-edition of a much-loved MMM piece from the spring/summer 1989 collection. Stylewise, I opted for the middle ground but you can easily go casual with a twist - think jeans in your favourite wash and a quirky cut, with a bold belt - or you can dress it up with a suit, just cover up good before the meeting starts.