Paris Fashion Week: The End Of An Epic Month...

And so to Paris, where our Fashion Features Director Victoria Moss sums up the findings from the final leg of our fashion world tour. She will now take her seat on the sofa, in a head-to-toe pyjama ensemble, and rock for some time.

The Berliner

Forget the predictable sartorial constraints of your goth and femme fatale's much overused formulas. This winter, for all your dark, sultry moods, may we introduce the Berliner. She debuted her line of serious, sexually charged femininity at Prada in Milan, and in Paris she’s changed into Lanvin (but of course). This is not about obvious sexual displays, this is the feminists' femme, slick black silks edged with awkwardly oversized gems and worn with a brogue that can power you along the street. This is not for wobbling along in a clingy pencil skirt, this is for wearing a hat that partially obscures your face, this is heavy, shiny black pleats and deep green khaki leather trench coats. This is power dressing at its most enduring. Make Marlene Dietrich your muse and do whatever the hell you feel like doing. 

Posh puffa

Surely the inevitable route of the sports luxe fashion conumdrum (Celine’s £600 skater shoes a case in point) is that instead of creating couture versions of JD Sports basics, is to flip the notion on its head, and create high fashion out of said basics. Exhibit A: Raf Simons' glorious most modern of cocktail frocks with pale pink bodice and scarlet asymmetric hemmed skirt was made from the lightest, quilted puffa. For real. Fused to create that stiff-looking precise structure but ensuring that the wearer feels untethered and as light as a feather (versus the same dress in a heavy, unyielding wool or satin). And what to wear with said frock? A trainer-court-stiletto hybrid shoe duh, which we are frankly OBSESSED with.

The friendly celebrity front line

We were sat opposite Kanye West, Beth Ditto and Rihanna on Sunday night at Givenchy. And we must say, they were all super jolly! Kanye was chat chatting along with Carine Roitfeld, was genuinely absorbed by the show and afterwards grabbed Beth Ditto for a big huggy hug. We loved him! He seemed like such a nice, well mannered young man. 

And now to Miu Miu. Two things really. One: Jordan Catalano (Jared Leto for all you kids out there) turned up. This made our life complete on so many levels we can’t quite express the ecstasy. Then our new favourite lady, Lupita Nyong’o, firstly looked as excited as we were to be there, and then to cement said joy took some pictures of her with her fellow famous front row ladies (an Olsen, some singer from Barbados who was already wearing our coat from next season’s Prada – no seriously babez – can we have it back now? Ta). It was lovely. 

Oh oh, and while we’re on the subject of famous people at fashion shows. We did note a smattering of It girls purposefully seated on the second rows at Louis Vuitton. Monsieur Ghesquiere, we’re really into your new fashion dawn.

A historical reference from the Givenchy show

Once we managed to take our eyes off the opposite side of the seating (Kanye et al) we decided to sum it us as thus, very cocktail party warrior. If Boadicea went to The Arts Club in Mayfair, this is exactly what she would wear. And we are very much, all for that.

Sacai

You need to know about Sacai. She’s (to name, the Tokyo based Chitose Abe) still a bit insider's insider. But by golly gosh did she create the world’s best coat ever in a collection that blew many seasoned designers right out of the water. Edie Campbell, we hate you a little because you got to wear this ingenius parka-flying jacket-sheepskin-puffa hybrid. 

The mini

Yup, she’s back. So says Hedi Slimane, Stella McCartney, Nicolas Ghesquiere and Mrs Prada. You wanna argue with them? Be our guest.

Flood defences

You know, it’s all got very wet weather conscious. Rain macs, parkas, plastic pea coats. I mean sure, we have to go out in the rain as much as the next person who always loses their umbrella. Why not keep dry underneath and look da bomb! Why not indeed? Cool.

The summer drop shop counumdrum

Here’s a thing we’ve clocked. These are the AW14 collections, yah? For next winter, yah? Except these clothes come into store in June/July. It looks like buyers are winning the battle of shopfloor logic, for most collections felt rather, errr, summery with a few fur coats (don’t blame us for those – we’re just taking notes here people) thrown in to throw out a little Gstaad nod over the deluge of more St Trop related items. Like this:

Leggings

DEEP BREATH ladies. Yeah, so um, leggings might be a thing. Think of it this way, when we noted Cara Delevingne’s holey leggings as she skipped around picking out produce in the Chanel supermarket aisles, we thought, hell, we’ve been wearing this look down to the Co-op for YEARS. Man, we’re ahead of this game! Karl - have you been watching us in Tesco on Kingsland Road? Aww shucks, dude, you shoulda said hi! But, what update can we provide, well, in the vision of Phoebe Philo, they’re a bit knitted, a bit flared, and look quite cosy! We’re going to mull it over, sure, but we can get down with most sartorial endeavours. As our boyfriend reminded us as we filled him in post fashion month, ‘You’re always going to be this shallow aren’t you?’ True story sir. True story. 

The mega shoe/boot

Following on from Raf Simons' shoe of dreams at Dior, may we present the bovver boot as shown at McQueen, the plastic coloured rain shoe at Miu Miu, Stella McCartney’s immense star printed platform brogue and Celine’s chunky DM-esque boot to adore. More reasons that we shan’t be bothering skipping around in a silly little stiletto, and shall instead be satisfyingly pounding the pavements. We have but one word for said footwear, and that, is mega. And we are pretty happy about that.

The super knit

Where spring/summer found itself in thrall to a jaunty slogan or printed sweatshirt, for winter, Paris has declared collectively that you need a sumptuous super knit. In our personal quest to uncover the world’s most ideal (grey if possible) knit, this comes as great fodder for our imaginarium of fashion we must own. This one at Celine is pretty spot on.

A note to Karl Lagerfeld

Please can we have a Chanel printed door mat? We really think it would cheer up the hall a treat. Also, we’re sorry about our colleagues looting of your store. It’s just that fashion people will do anything for a freebie. When will they learn Karl? When will they learn…