Runway Report - Paris Couture Week

It’s never too early to start planning your wardrobe for next season (and quite frankly, with the weather being as it has you’ve probably already started to think ahead). Paris Couture Week wrapped up yesterday, and so what better time to turn your attention to next season’s trends? Although the couture shows are notoriously flamboyant and the pieces unlikely to  make their way into your wardrobe (due to a – their practicality, or lack thereof, and b – the A-List only price tags), they never-the-less endorse the key seasonal trends that we’ll be working come autumn. Here’s our pick of the best bits from Paris 2007…

With Cate Blanchett in the front row, you’ll no doubt be seeing some of the Armani Privé collection on a red carpet near you soon. The theme of Armani’s show was “Rock Symphony”, but don’t expect the grungy effect of recent rock looks next season – instead the look was more that of rock royalty, with nods to Michael Jackson and Prince – and Armani himself admitted he was inspired by Bowie. The recurring theme of the show was nipped-waist dresses and jackets, the latter worn with skinny leg trousers or full skirts. It’s a more womanly look than those we've seen recently, and we’re big fans.

Over to Chanel next, where Karl Lagerfeld continued the trend for nipped-in, tailored silhouettes. What set these pieces apart was the elaborate detailing to side seams, which featured feathers,  bands of leather and pearls. Many items had a distinctly 1920s flapper girl  air, a trend we're predicting big things for come late 2007. The man who once said "what I really love are little black dresses" lived up to this statement, with plenty of trademark Lagerfeld and Chanel black on display, broken up with flashes of muted pinks, greens and blues.

Most of the column inches dedicated to the Christian Dior show were down to Kate Moss pulling out in a flood of tears due to her recent break-up with on/off boyfriend Pete Doherty. But just to focus on this is to neglect the fact that the outfits the models that did turn up strutted down the runway in were nothing short of breathtaking, encapsulating the spirit of couture - extravagant, full of artistic licence and more than a little OTT. And with  Dior celebrating its 65th year, artistic director John Galliano had reason to go to town

Although not as vibrant as his usual offerings - for this collection he, like Lagerfeld, chose muted shades of lilac, green, blue, pink and orange, with some more vibrant hues of red and gold thrown in - the show certainly delivered. Yet again, the waist was defined, with elements of Victoriana dress and corsetry evident. Suck in those waists, ladies!

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