Youth culture throughout the ages has created a plethora of fashion statements, each lovingly composed as an expression of independence and to highlight membership of underground subculture. We've gone from Teddy Boy to Nu Rave in less than sixty years and stopped off at New Romantic, Punk, Goth and others too numerous (or short lived) to mention. So what for today's fashion conscious teenagers?

Hot off the press is the AW08 collection from trend setting house, Nanny State. Tapped firmly into the current youth scenes they have arguably been a mainstay of the alternative and loosely termed ‘emo' or ‘indie' styles that are still popular on the streets today. This Autumn/Winter 08 Nanny State introduces possibly their strongest collection yet adding quirky twists to their best selling ranges.

The hub of the collection is made just for women.  Utilising various metallic textures and ribbon laces the exciting new range takes a typically edgy, rebellious (but definitely feminine) twist on traditional Nanny State styles.  Key pieces include gold and silver brogues - a female version on a popular men's trend.  We like the subversive naming of the shoes after prominent and often controversial political figures (the Mo Molem, above, the Condoleezza White, the Mrs Clinton, below). The styles are such that they can be worn with casual and smarter outfits and almost certainly hit the mark in terms of making a statement. We heartily approve.

Bold colour is an age old method of announcing your arrival in a room. One house, Babycham are certainly providing plenty of colours with a series of ballets and pumps that manage, in varying degrees, to appeal to the more sporting youth and those more concerned with a feeling that refers more to the skater look.

The current SS08 Babycham ‘flamingo buckle' trainers certainly embrace the trends for print and bright colours in droves. As featured here, the trainer is ostensibly black with a thick white flat rubber rim and moulded shell toe with playful neon imagery and three buckles of day-glo pink, yellow, and blue. Not for the faint hearted but a likely winner for those individuals who are like, so bored, of the mundane...

And it seems that prints need not be restricted to feminine florals for the rest of the summer with Babycham producing some playful neon prints on slim plimsolls complete with a shell toe effect and thick white laces again reminiscent of a skate shoe.

As a result of some intense style spotting by the team, we can't help notice a nautical theme creeping in to some of the more forward thinking bright young things (twin with skinny jeans, cut cardigans and tees and you're away). A great example of this coming from Sebago, a manufacturer with a fine pedigree for those of a seafaring bent amongst us. 

This season sees them making a concerted effort to give a twist to this heritage with use of colour and a fashion that attempts to fashion a slightly more urban feel as demonstrated by the clean line of the Classic

Dockside featured here - simple matt black leather offset with white leather strips and stitching and a white sole.

And finally, as flats and plimsolls appear to be a key look at the moment, we again need look no further than to some of the ASOS offerings for understated youthful style. Now, we've spotted the ubiquitous plimsoll on market stalls in the markets of East London for as little as £3. We've also tried them. And, pricing benefits aside, can also vouch for their lack of durability. 

The ASOS version - a plain plimsoll available in various colours - has a feel of greater quality; on the version here in black with delicate white lacing snugly protruding through unfussy metal holes. 

Good stuff.

So there we have a brief round up. And, as my underage alter ego might lustily assert, "Have that, Grandpa...!"

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