BY DAVID HAYES

Prints inspired from as far a field as Africa and India, colours lifted straight from the Art Deco strip on Miami Beach, the iconic looks of the easy-but-oh-so-chic style of the South of France, the pure white of the sun bleached walls Greek mountain village: next summer may be all about the 'staycation' for many of us but at least our wardrobes will look well traveled as fashion goes on a very well dressed round the world journey for spring/summer 2012.

And for the best that fashion has to offer? You don't have to travel any further than Regent Street. From Anthropologie to Zara, London's coolest mile of destination stores has all you need. Here is our check list of some of the hottest trends and the key buys of the new season to start you dreaming of those long, sunny summer days ahead.

World Traveler
Designers have a magpie eye for all things exotic this season. From Burberry's tribal prints and woven raffia details mixed with on-safari khakis to YSL's paisley prints, Isabel Marant's peasant blouses and Matthew Williamson's Ikat inspired florals, it is all about adding a little far flung inspiration in to every day dressing this summer. Look out for Burberry Prorsum's African print skirts and dresses, COS's print trousers and shifts, Anthropologie's hippy-dippy ethnic tops and Gap's colourful Massai Mara stripe long vest dresses.

New Colour
The summer collections turned up the volume on colour: from neon accessories from the likes of Mulberry and Stella McCartney to blocks of electric pastel shades at Preen, Miami Beach inspired washed-out blues and greens at Jonathan Saunders and patchworks of soft shades at Prada, there is a palette to suit even the most colour shy this season. Look out for Massimo Dutti, Brooks Brothers, Jaeger London and Gap's pastels jeans and trousers, COS's riot of colour separates, dresses and accessories and H&M's colourful coats and matching court shoes.

Riviera Remix
Brigitte Bardot in her Sixties South of France hay day held a fascination for many designers this season: think the new full skirted dresses at Dolce & Gabbana, Jonathan Saunders and Diane von Furstenberg to the stripes and anchor motifs at YSL's cruise collection. Simply add a raffia heel wedge from the likes of Christian Louboutin and a stripy beach bag from Balenciaga and you are ready for your paparazzi moment on the Croisette. Look out for full printed skirts and killer wedges at H&M, stripes galore at Massimo Dutti and Anthropologie and swishy denim skirts and Breton stripe tops at Gap.

White Heat
Fast becoming the summer neutral to rival black, pure clean white was everywhere at the collections as a moment of calm amongst all that colour: from Phoebe Philo's crisp white cotton layers at Celine to Jil Sander's simple shirt dresses, Pucci's textural lace and Chanel's cute shifts. Invest in some in-wash stain remover and set the washing machine on 90 degrees then head straight to COS for crisp white shirts and neat skirts, Massimo Dutti for tennis dress shifts, H&M for sleeve-less leather biker jackets and Jaeger London for cute table-cloth lace cotton dresses.

Floral Bouquet
From ditsy micro prints to full-on lush blooms, florals were a key look at many of the big shows this season. Think Erdem's Sunday best delicately patterned print dresses, Dolce & Gabbana's bold retro splashes of hot house colour, Mary Katrantzou's bands of orderly blooms and Sixties inspired daisy motifs at Marni and Louis Vuitton. Look out for H&M's statement floral dresses and softly sprigged tops, Anthropologie's floral print jeans and short dresses as well as Brooks Brother's china blue print floral shirts.

Sports Stars
Not surprisingly in an Olympic year designers took a sporty approach to summer dressing: from Rag & Bone's go-faster stripe track pants and mesh tops to Marc Jacobs' paneled sweatshirt inspired tops and Balenciaga's ultra-brief running shorts - some of the best looks have the ultra-easy appeal of sportswear. And for the less athletically minded amongst us? What better than Stella McCartney's pyjama style separates in classic paisley prints. Look out for Jaeger London's loose cut sporty dresses, Massimo Dutti's block colour T-shirts, COS's techno fabric sweats, Anthropologie's classic grey marl tees and H&M's shiny textured city shorts.

Shine On
Evenings took on a shimmery glow for summer evenings with Christopher Kane's metallic brocades and gossamer layers like insect wings, Givenchy's silvery take on fish scales and Marc Jacob's sweetie-wrapper cellophane techno fabrics - as well as a host of metallic shine accessories from Alexander McQueen to YSL that are sure to get you noticed after dark. Look out for H&M's cool take on silver shine with leather peplum tops, skinny jeans and sequin vest tops as well as a wealth of glittery statement accessories from Massimo Dutti.