Stella McCartney makes a splash at Fashion Week as synchronised swimmers help unveil her new sportswear collection for adidas

Designer unveiled Spring/Summer 14 sportswear collection for adidas

Range includes swimming costumes, gym wear and running kit

Models were put through their paces on static bikes and in water tanks to prove it's functional as well as stylish


Stella McCartney set out to prove her latest sportswear collection for adidas is functional as well as stylish as London Fashion Week came to a close today.

Rather than simply send models down a catwalk in her latest styles, the designer enlisted swimmers, athletes and gymnasts to put her clothes to the test.



A giant water tank was installed at the Bloomsbury venue and synchronised swimmers dived in to perform some moves in McCartney's new swimwear.

Breathtaking: Designer Stella McCartney poses in front of a giant water tank as swimmers model her latest swimwear

Not the average catwalk: The models demonstrate the functionality of the Spring/Summer 14 designs for Adidas

Touch of glamour: The strappy swimming costumes have a plunging V-neck and are cut away at the waist



The glamorous black costumes had a strappy, plunging V-neck and were cut away at the waist - making them a desirable choice for those who want to look chic lounging beside a pool or on the beach.

McCartney, who celebrated her 42nd birthday this week, attended the event in a snakeskin print dress from her Spring 14 womenswear collection and tan heels. She paused to pose in front of the tank while the model swimmers moved effortlessly behind her, upside-down under the water.

Dropping in: Gymnasts defy gravity to pose in McCartney's new collection

Wearing her style well: McCartney wore a snakeskin dress from her Spring/Summer 14 womenswear collection

Hanging out at London Fashion Week: Aerial gymnasts displayed the sportswear in style at the venue in Bloomsbury

Not in the pink: The collection of shorts, leggings and tops makes a refreshing change as it comes in shades of grey, blue and citrus

Smile! The designer gets her own mobile out to take some pictures, left, as a flexible model shows the clothes are adequately stretchy for working out



Acrobatic: The models performed a full aerial routine with silk ropes as the designer took pictures

Amazing moves: The kit will be suitable for yoga classes as these poses prove

In another section of the airy venue, aerial gymnasts danced with silk ropes in McCartney's Spring/Summer 14 sportswear.



They wore shorts over leggings with sweatshirts in grey, pale blue and citrus hues as they performed pirouettes and somersaults surrounded by the audience. McCartney took her mobile phone out at one point to snap them in action.



Other models proved that the sportswear wasn't intended to be worn just to look good at the gym as they were put through their paces on exercise bikes.

The cyclists wore shorts, leggings, tops and hooded sleeveless jackets in orange and navy as they pounded the pedals.

On your bike! Elsewhere, models took to exercise machines to demonstrate how the clothes are worn to work out, not pose in

Working up a sweat: The models wore shorts, leggings and sleeveless hooded jackets in orange and navy designed to be practical as well as stylish



Real runway: Models jog in graphic print leggings, hooded tops and colour coordinating trainers

Summery: The range features daisy print and yellow hues

Elsewhere, models gave a literal meaning to the fashion runway as they jogged along in navy hooded sleeveless jackets with graphic print leggings and colour co-ordinating trainers.

Sportswomen fed of of being bombarded with pink sportswear will be pleased to hear there was barely a pink shade in the collection. But it still has a feminine feel with daisy print shorts and tops and summery yellow and white leggings.



McCartney last year designed the Team GB kit at the London 2012 Games and Olympians were in attendance today for a sneak peek at her latest designs.

Gymnast Louis Smith ditched his Lycra to look dapper in a a crisp white shirt and checked suit and chatted with McCartney after the show along with discus thrower Dan Greaves. The field athlete posed a picture of the trio on Twitter in which he described the McCartney presentation as 'amazing'.

'Some people just wear black on black, put their head down and get on with their sport and then get changed,' McCartney said after the show. 'To me this is a celebration of who you are when you're working out, and not sacrificing in any way your style.'

'I love it. They are amazing. It's not the kind of thing you see at London Fashion Week is it?' McCartney said.



McCartney said she relished the challenges of working with high-technology fabrics and of balancing style with maximum function for athletes.



'I love the limitations," she said. 'It's a really exciting part of the process for me.'



Seal of approval: Olympians Dan Greaves, left, and Louis Smith gave the collection the thumbs up