Big sleeves
Lanvin
Alber Elbaz went all out on the pouffiness of Eighties cocktail dresses. At night, the waist was still the point of celebration and how better to accentuate it than by adding crunchy taffeta, mutton sleeves and a tulip skirt.
Sonia Rykiel
These sleeves could have come in neon fox, like others we could mention. But they’re fake. Think clashing tartans, stripy Lurex knits and all-round zaniness. Arguably the collection lacked focus, but with terrific individual pieces all was forgiven.
Kilts
Loewe
Take a leather skirt, add a leather tunic that buttons up the back, layer on a leather coat and what you have is ... a lot of leather. But then, it’s a leather house. Brit designer Stuart Vevers has certainly mastered the luxurious leathery Spanish-ness of it all. Its classic Amazona bag is the celebs’ fave new cuddle blanket too.
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Yves Saint Laurent
Wow. The flowing, white goddess dresses of the finale would have left Grace Kelly gasping. The skirt-suits in a Prince-of-Wales check were pure Jackie O. And the round-neck sweaters were Hepburn-gamine par excellence. Classics rebooted to perfection.
Fake fur
Junya Watanabe
On the plus side, this coat is so obviously fake that you’re unlikely to be stopped by animal rights campaigners. But do you really want to leave the house resembling Big Bird on safari?
Isabel Marant
For the past five seasons Marant has been a heavy hitter with the front row. We don’t see style mavens rushing out to buy coats that double as rugs, but we’re willing to be proved wrong.
Longer length skirts
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Balenciaga
Nicolas Ghesquière doesn’t usually take a hard-to-grapple-with trend and make it wearable. Draping across the stomach disguised midlife sag while skirts that were fitted at the hips but darted out on the lower thigh permitted movement. Are you listening on the high street?
Roland Mouret
His skirts had fashion eds pencilling in their private-order appointments. They skimmed the hips, while strategic slits ensured fluidity. Anyone wondering how to pull this off next season should look and learn.
Chloé
The midi hemline was deadly in this serpentine-themed collection, especially in the green, fitted dress with a scaly relief.
Oversized
Vanessa Bruno
Get your head round these proportions and you know you’re a true fashion disciple. Note the lovely longer-length wispy skirt, the droopy boots and socks, the slightly grungy super-size-me jacket and the dippy level of grooming.
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Stella McCartney
The boxy, oversized, shawl-collar jackets and gold minidresses with Michelin-man arms were too pumped up to be loveable. But when McCartney turned down that volume, the clothes really sang; great cinched-waist skirts and a lovely series of LBDs. Daring and demure — v loveable.
Statement sweaters
Céline
Multi-panelled dresses and a print that resembled a walnut dashboard were obvious enough references to a collection that was inspired by the interior of a car. We weren’t convinced by those Ski Sunday sweaters in unforgiving colour combos but the devout Céline fan can take heart: there’s plenty more navy and blush pink back in the showroom.
Givenchy
Remember those bad-taste jumpers worn by Sharon in EastEnders? Now they’re cool because Riccardo Tisci has done them for Givenchy and he’s a fashion God. No time for dissent, there’s too much else to dwell on : the double skirts; the starey-eyed panther and African violet prints; and the patent bras.