At Alexander McQueen, it was as if the ocean had flowed straight from the Chanel show and on to Sarah Burton's catwalk. The beautifully intricate detail on the clothes was composed of coral and shell shapes, and designer Sarah Burton described the clothes as moving 'like a jellyfish in the sea'. We were completely swept away Photograph: Helen Seamons
Joy of joys: another sighting of Kate Moss at Louis Vuitton. In stark contrast to last season's hot pant-wearing, cigarette-smoking bad girl, this time she was demurely perched on a white carousel horse in an innocent feather-trimmed Broderie Anglais dress. As the curtain rose, it revealed 48 models riding a full-size carousel. Moss was the last one to dismount and walk a lap of the stage, leaving the Paris fashion crowd smiling with a renewed 'joie de vivre' Photograph: Helen Seamons
This season Phoebe Philo was on form. Sculptural and very three-dimensional form, to be precise. She worked with new proportions: full-rounded sleeves on army jackets; peplums encompassing the hips; and wide, cinched-in belts. The overall Céline silhouette was ultra modern without a print in sight. Top of our wish-list for next season are the platform ankle-strap pumps Photograph: Helen Seamons
After Prada's pastel affair in Milan, It's no surprise that Miuccia Prada threw us a curve ball with Miu Miu. A series of black and grey looks, all worn by models with sinister, red eye makeup, morphed into smock-front cotton dresses, patchwork prints and satin capes. The Miu Miu girl looked like a Grimm's fairytale heroine, but this Little Red Riding Hood wouldn't need a woodcutter to save her Photograph: Helen Seamons
This season, it's all about the up-do. Bouncy, loose hair is so last season. Aim for the prettier, more grown-up side of Heidi; intricate plaits woven around the head, seen here at Valentino and also spotted at Alexander McQueen, sideways cornrows, and a simple, pearl-strewn pin-up at Chanel Photograph: Helen Seamons
Junya Watanabe always starts with something traditional and then evolves the look. This season it was the craft of lace. A succession of beautiful embroidered lace dresses all topped with elaborate feather headdresses paraded down the almost pitch black runway. Some dresses were protected with a cropped biker jacket, its sleeves voluminous gauze ruffles. Typically for Junya, there is always a twist on the traditional and this season, the trench coat morphed into the trench cape Photograph: Helen Seamons
Pastels are due a bit of a moment and there was barely a collection that didn't include one, if not all, of the three key hues: Wedgewood blue (even Miu Miu's dark fairytale used this shade for its invitation), Easter Chick yellow and Fondant Fancy pink. It's definitely going to be a sugary summer Photograph: PR/Getty
At YSL the house colours - rich purple, deep bottle-green, and teal, mixed with a fresh pink - showed how to do colour without feeling too girlie. However it was the accessories that really caught our eye, a gold shell clip that held the hair, gold toe cap sandals, sometimes with crystal embellishment, and the vintage-look pearl-studded belts Photograph: PR
In summary, next season trends are; print, paisley, pyjama pants, pearls, peplums, pastels, patchwork and pleats. Stella McCartney has backed paisley PJs. New designer at Chloe, Claire Waight Keller, ran with pleats on dresses, shirts and skirts. Over at Chanel, King Karl dazzled us all with a collection that paid homage to that most iconic of Chanel looks - the string of pearls. Choosing an underwater theme, the show saw Florence Welch unveiled as the 'pearl' in a giant Venus oyster shell Photograph: Helen Seamons; Wireimage
When we heard that ex-creative director at Sonia Rykiel, Gabrielle Gress (who also spent eight years at Martine Sitbon, another fashion desk favourite), had produced her own collection we made a beeline for her Paris studio. We were greeted with dreamy dresses made up of transparent layers, hinting at the form underneath but never revealing it. A favourite piece was a soft, bouclé washed sweatshirt (pictured), teamed with a fluid skirt. These are clothes for dancing barefoot on the beach in Photograph: PR
