As the station clock struck ten, the Louis Vuitton Express, steam billowing, pulled in to the heart of the Louvre, to the delight of the assembled fashion crowd. Each of the 47 models then alighted the train carriage, followed by their own porter carrying their extensive Vuitton luggage. This was a faultless Marc Jacobs for Vuitton performance; the elaborate set, the storytelling (the best show notes of the season conjured up a mood of a bygone age of luxury travel and an air of tangible anticipation that something magical was about to unfold) and, lest we forget, clothes, which were all topped by a squat, squashed, over-sized hat. The silhouette was stiff and structured and often heavily embellished in gems and richly coloured embroidery, all fastenings were in the style of jewelled brooches. First Class in every sense Photograph: Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images
Leather is proving to be THE perennial trend. Congratulations if you already invested, you can feel smug in the knowledge you are still on-trend for winter 2012. Seen in many Paris collections it was most notable in an equestrian-inspired trio of shows; Hèrmes, Loewe and Givenchy. It was Argentine Gauchos for Christophe Lemaire at Hèrmes, the Royal Baroque riding schools of the South of Spain at Loewe and centaurs for Riccardo Tisci, whose footwear looked like a hybrid of riding boots and hooves. The equine theme continued here with huge disc earrings that riffed on horses' blinkers Photograph: Stephane Mahe/Reuters
It's all about the cape. Not the superhero style or a swirling Sherlock Holmes cloak, we are talking arms through slits or bell sleeves. The freedom to scratch one's nose and hail a cab with ease. At Yohji Yamamoto the cape was in knitted hot pink, at YSL there was a modern tuxedo jacket feel, while Chloe created a hybrid parka-cape Photograph: Francois Guillot/AFP
We love a show note allowing the fashion crowd a brief glimpse inside a designer's mind. At Maison Martin Margiela the inspiration was “gestures", "over the shoulder", "hands in pockets" and "stand up collar" inspiring the shape and construction of each piece. Coats were re-proportioned and rose from the shoulder, there were exaggerated pull-up collars, while double sleeves created capes. Sleeves were sewn into pockets, and knitwear gave the illusion of movement with molded bent elbows. At Junya Watanabe the collection was based on form, or rather changing form, a trench coat became a funnel-neck cape; cuffed pants were opened out into the trailing tails of a pinstriped jacket. The running theme was the deconstruction of masculine tailoring. We suggest that with a little DIY you can take a new view on an old suit at the back of your wardrobe Photograph: PR
It was beauty looks a-go-go in Paris. Thanks to Chanel eyebrows are the thing for AW12, sparkling, out-of-this-world brows that is. On planet Chanel they are made from crystals, glitter and beads - a browjazzle as one front-row fashion editor quipped on Twitter. At Miu Miu, Pat McGarth went for a psychedelic seventies meets Summer of Love mirror disc look, worn with faux side-burns. We might give those a miss. Our favourite revival look of the week- lashings of eighties blue mascara at Stella McCartney. This is one trend to try at home now Photograph: Alexander Klein/AFP
Violet, mauve, amethyst, heliotrope, aubergine, plum. Whatever you call it, purple is the colour to be sporting for winter. Endorsed by Chanel, Christian Dior and Balenciaga, need we say more? Photograph: Benoit Tessier/Reuters
This season fashion has risen to a grand new scale – literally. Two of the most eye-dazzling moments from Paris came as models were dwarfed by the sheer volume of the creations they wore. There wasn't a figure hugging, body-conscious garment in sight and the fashion crowd cheered and applauded. Rei Kawakubo at Comme Des Garcons had fun with felted dresses that had a paper doll-like feel, minus the tabs. On a softer note, Sarah Burton for McQueen carried on the inspiration of the McQ show, the forest floor and fungi. Dresses practically stood on their own, and looked as though they had unfurled and opened under the heat of the fibre optic lights. Thousands of layers of organza gently swayed with the tiniest movement Photograph: PR
There was a modern take on old classics in Paris. At Balmain Olivier Rousteing took inspiration from Fabergé eggs by using tiny pearls and crystal embroidery. For the Carven label Guillaume Henry took Hieronymus Bosch's 'Garden of Earthly Delights' as his chosen print, sending models down the runway in playful mid-thigh dresses with cheeky key-hole slits on the bodices. Print maestro Dries Van Noten, used the archives of the Victoria and Albert Museum to unveil Japanese, Chinese, and Korean iconography printed and cleverly cut into panels on coats, trousers and jackets Photograph: Francois Guillot/AFP
Tabitha Simmons is our shoe hero. We long to trip through our days in her exquisite heels. We fell hook, line and sinker for these Pearly Queen velvet numbers Photograph: PR
Kenzo staged a takeover of Université Pierre et Marie Curie, decking it out in colourful neon tubular lights. Super slick choreography saw models ride the escalators down the five floors of the building, doing a lap of each floor as they went. There was so much to take in as it whizzed by: walnut jewellery, fruit shaped bags, tile prints, zip-off sections to coats that became cropped jackets and miniskirts, neon backed shoes. Served with a Magnolia bakery cupcake to nibble as you watched. Pretty impressive stuff Photograph: Helen Seamons
