For such a silly little island, Britain has an awful lot to be proud of. The things that hit home with me the most is our rich seam of pop-culture icons. We make ace films, produce great actors, we have a frightening amount of famous bands, great playwrights, fine novelists… but often overlooked is our ability to make amazing and unique clothes and apparel. The series opener of British Style Genius (BBC Two, Tuesday, 21 October, 9pm) was a ripsnorter, but is British design something that can hold your attention for a whole five-part series?

It’s funny to think that the only thing that seems to have travelled well, with regards to British Style, to your average bloke on the street, is the tailors of Savile Row and, basically, our ’60s output. Of course, those in the inner circle of fashion, or indeed, those with more than a passing interest in such things, will spit their tea out at such a notion. Last night’s programme was a paean to those that are stupendously famous, but somehow overlooked in their importance.

The star of the show (the star of ANY show she wishes to attend) is the mighty Vivienne Westwood, who, despite her time globetrotting and making some of the most weird and wonderful clothes ever to grace a human body, still has that wonderful Northern brogue. While much of the fashion world goes mincey, Vivienne still refers to some of her creations with phrases like “they make you look like you’ve shit yer pants.” She is, in every aspect, brilliant. As a matter of fact, this show reminded me that she’s not on our telly nearly enough.

Anyway, last night’s show looked at the more radical end of the spectrum, which of course, means that a lot of the creations shown would polarise opinion no end. From Westwood’s bondage punk gear, to Alexander McQueen’s ‘rape’ catwalk, this was a show that wasn’t going to pull any punches.

Now, a writer with more interest in the exactitudes of fashion would go on about the cuts, the hems, the far-sightedness of suchathing which made thisotherthing happen on the racks of the high street, but I’m not best qualified for that. Rather, as I thrive of this pop-culture documentaries, I watched it in the same way I watch music docs. Instead of thrilling about someone talking about a particular range, I seriously love watching people talking about the nuts and bolts of their creation. Like a guitarist showing what studio effects made a song so distinctive, it was great to see Vivienne Westwood stood with a pencil, drawing out the design for her ‘pirate’ shirt. It didn’t really matter if I liked the end product (I didn’t), but I liked watching a master at work.

All in all, this show, whether you have a keen interest in British fashion design or not, is a great look into a world that usually has the padlocks on. Of course, it’s got pretensions and eccentricities, but certainly no more than your average look at the film world or music. So far, this has been a hugely enjoyable show filled with some of the most important people in British popular culture, which veers into music, film and the high-street. If the Beatles or Sex Pistols soundtracked our lives, these people were the one’s defining the way Britain looked, which is just as important. A cracking show, even for a thicko like me.