Diary of a trendspotter

Cacharel are named after a duck local to the Camargue so it's appropriate that for their 50th birthday show design duo Eley Kishimoto went back to their roots with a bird-themed show Photograph: Pierre Verdy/AFP

The collection had a vaguely nautical air - perhaps those birds were sea-faring - with wonderfully wearable wide-legged trousers and blue and white stripe details on pinafore dresses ... Photograph: Pierre Verdy/AFP

... As well as shirt dresses in geometric designs and the odd migrating goose print of course Photograph: Pierre Verdy/AFP

The show finished with a bonus extra. As the fashion press stood up for the sprint to be out first, models reappeared clad in Liberty print frocks, a homage to Cacharel's historic association with the British brand. They looked remarkably cheerful about it too - perhaps because they got to walk barefoot Photograph: Michel Euler/AP

Gaspard Yurkievitch risked upstaging his own show by booking a singer, a six-man choir and a string quartet to accompany the models down the runway, all to a backing track so repetitive that it was guaranteed to cause madness after the thirtieth repetition Photograph: Pierre Verdy/AFP

And the clothes? The inspiration was "the Parisian muses' liberated and androgynously chic style" ... Photograph: Benoit Tessier/Reuters

... and the result, a sort of architectural but deconstructed collection featuring pleats ... Photograph: Pierre Verdy/AFP

... exposed zips, and a touch of Art Deco embellishment Photograph: Pierre Verdy/AFP

There were no show notes to reveal the inspiration behind Isabel Marant's latest collection, but within two bars of Kim Wilde's Kids in America it was pretty clear that Marant is channelling all things Americana Photograph: Jacques Brinon/AP

In the venue just outside the Eiffel Tower - more aircraft hangar than intimate show space - the models wore patchwork, plaid and denim and - of course - cowboy boots (albeit ones with heels). The girls themselves all seemed to be from central casting - file under "all-American girl" Photograph: Pierre Verdy/AFP

The later looks had a bit more of a punk edge - black quilted padded skirts rather than patchwork-print babydoll dresses - but the soundtrack still proclaimed "I want candy". Marant is known for her young, rock'n'roll aesthetic and this collection was no exception Photograph: Pierre Verdy/AFP