After four days of Paris catwalk shows, indications for winter are that it's going to be a strong shoulder season with capes, hooded coats and elaborate sleeves in evidence everywhere.
Grey and black predominate and dresses continue to billow with many collections offering variations on tunics and smocks. Fur is being used extravagantly to varying protest.
A woman at Valentino, her body painted with anti-fur slogans, was restrained by security guards before she made it to the runway.
At Stella McCartney's show yesterday in the Palais de Chaillot, the designer sent a wave of womanly energy into staples such as duffel coats and parkas, giving them swinging new shapes in bonded cottons and cashmeres. Hers has always been a slightly top-heavy silhouette, but chunky was the word that came to mind looking at tent coats and grey gilets in a tufted carpet-like fabric.
Blouson tops and grey cable knits with exaggerated shoulders had that sassy Stella swagger.
McCartney, who also cut a mean little navy suit with an ultra-shapely jacket, shows that when it comes to tailoring, she can do the business.
And she can produce some sweet dresses, from the little racer back hoodie jerseys in lime or shocking pink to a hand-pleated shift in grey silk. It was stellar Stella, streetwise and sophisticated.
At Cacharel, peasant scarves and apron-print dresses in sombre colours made for a downbeat collection which took the eastern European outdoors as a theme.
Slouchy boots, trousers tucked into socks and dresses with black nylon puff sleeves were as uninspiring as the rucksack accessories.
It was a surprisingly utilitarian collection for a design duo known for their mastery of pattern and print and even a rather chic black smock with black jet jewellery failed to lift a lacklustre collection.
Equally disappointing was Ungaro where Norwegian designer Peter Dundas is charged with reviving the spirit of this august French house.
Do modern women want to wear oversize inflatable black nylon jackets, backless blood red sequin dresses and tons of orange fur?
Far more exciting was an exhibition of Catalan fashion held in the Marais called Showroom Barcelona featuring 14 young independent designers.
There were lovely collections from Cecilia Sorensen, Teresa Helbig, Jose Castro, Miriam Ponsa and Lucia Blanco as well as stunning accessories from the Venezuelan-born Mariana Mendez now working with Yohji Yamamoto.
Irish buyers take note.
