Nothing literal but there in spirit. At Lanvin, the first segment of the show, with its beautiful brown-and-red spare-looking coats, had a slightly 60s feel. At YSL, checked skirt suits had a 60s precision, and at insider favourite Raoul, separates had a touch of the Pan Am airline about them. Photograph: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Paris is now on the below-the-knee tip. Dries Van Noten’s skirts were printed in a clashing but somehow tasteful way, while Balenciaga’s were draped at the front and pleated at the back. Roland Mouret’s new dress shape has a fitted skinny-sleeved top and a fuller below-the-knee skirt. All were quietly grownup. Photograph: Zeppelin Photo/Retna Pictures/Photoshot
Chunky wider knits have the momentum next season. They look anti-fashion, but don’t be fooled – these are super-expensive and cult. As seen at Stella McCartney in a deluxe cream, and at Claudia Schiffer’s eponymous new cashmere label (honest that isn’t a typo), where they were best when cropped and lumpy. At Carven, navy ribbed jumpers secretly stole the show, and Valentino featured a gorgeous navy ribbed sweater with a lace skirt of the same colour. Photograph: Catwalking.com
This trend could prove divisive. It has been a while since fashion has ‘done’ a polo neck. But backstage after the Céline show, there was designer Phoebe Philo dressed in a simple moss-coloured one with black tapered trousers. On her catwalk, cream polo necks were worn almost like a ski-layer under slick power coats. Balenciaga did them with a less claustrophobic neck. Styling tip: if you have long hair, you’re meant to leave it tucked in, as though you have literally just yanked the polo neck over your head. Photograph: Benoit Tessier/Reuters
Stella McCartney is the past master of this style, so it isn’t surprising that, in a season where it’s cropping up as a theme, she again riffed on the look. Chanel took up the masculine-feminine baton with a collection that included jumpsuits and heels no higher than two inches. This is also a moment for the boyish cut trouser (cf Céline and Balenciaga for starters). Photograph: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters
