The Last Runway Tour!

..... that is until the next Fashion Weeks, during which we will take a look at what Spring 2012 will be made of!

So, in order to conclude on this A/W 2011-2012 series of Fashion Weeks, here are my 4 last favorite shows seen in Paris: Chloé, Stella McCartney, Chanel and Valentino!

Chloé

During this show, the collection came in quite as a surprise from which Hannah McGibbon had got us used too. As a matter of fact, while the designer normally emphasizes one quite simple and sober looks, this year she gave in to the prints and more particularly the snakeskin which she applied on most of the looks, declined on skirts, tops, trousers, vests etc. And let me say, that her new appreciation for prints was a very good surprise as the collection was amazing and very ambitious! The silhouettes carried the usual 70's-ish vibe with beige and camel stepping in as the base of the collection while bright colors were very much present with touches of green and yellow mostly. Note, that regarding the accessories, the accross-the-body bag comes in as a major trend!

Here are a few of my favorite looks from the show!

Stella Mc Cartney

I absolutely loved this collection for its bloated sleeves and the wide presence of polka dots and tulle. If you recall, the polka dots were already spotted on the runway in New York on Marc Jacobs’ collection… However, in this present collection, the dots are featured smaller and with more subtleness. Applied on tulle, delicately sneaking out from the bottom of a skirt or dress. Transparency games, mix of fabrics and simple outfits carrying just the good details to make it eye-catching can resume in a few words the extremely feminine collection.

Enjoy!

Chanel

“The world is a dark place”. Those words by Karl Lagerfeld himself described perfectly Chanel’s collection for A/W 2011-2012. As a matter of fact, the outfits matched the setting in which the models were marching, which could be described as a dark fog-shrouded forest. While black was the main tone we could noticed bits and bops of brighter colors here and there. Tweed was, as usual, declined in numerous outfits, from skirt suits to cropped vests. The collection was the perfect illustration of how Karl Lagerfeld masters in taking Chanel’s classics while turning them into modern looks. For this season, the main theme around which the clothes were imagined was the gothic, with the show carrying a sense of “apocalyptique grandeur”! Moreover, the grungyness of the clothes was accentuated by the leather lacep-up boots over which the clothes were casually placed. Chanel’s collections are always so rich of textures, details and creativity and each outfit could be starred at for hours in amazement. Well, at least I could ;-) Seen by Chanel, dark is beautiful!!!!

Step into the dark side...

Valentino

To end in a lighter ambiance, here is Valentino’s show. A very lady-like collection with strict and structured silhouettes strolling down the catwalk in few nude tones and warm colors. We could notice that the snakeskin was also present, here applied on the boots, adding just the twist to a simple and sober outfit. Structured leather coats, flare overlong trousers, lace, pleated skirts, transparency, ruffle skirts, boots matching the outfits and very few prints, constructed a very politically correct collection, elegant and extremely seducing. In most outfits, the waist was very delicately marked by a thin belt or ruban as part of the outfit. In other words, a delicate, subtle, feminine and very appealing collection!! Having said that, we weren’t expecting less from Valentino!!!

In summary, I would take Chloe's snakeskin, Stella McCartney's polka dots on tulle, Chanel's modern gothic tweed and Valentino nude transparent dresses and skirts.

Well, I don’t know about you but I will seriously miss all these exciting runway shows which rythmed our days during the past few weeks! But as every good thing comes to an end, so does the Fashion Weeks….