A tuxedo, a jumpsuit, poppy red and checks: here are some of the wardrobe essentials shaping up for spring 2013 at the close of Paris Fashion Week:
BANDEAU TOPS: Bare midriffs peeped out on bathing suits, or bolero tops and pleated skirts, at Rochas' 1950s-flavoured collection, Louis Vuitton had checked bustier tops above long skirts, while the bandeau cropped up from Balmain to Anne Valerie Hash.
CHECKS: Lumberjack checks in ultra-light fabrics set the tone at Dries Van Noten, Alexis Mabille took gingham as a leitmotif, Marc Jacobs build his arty collection around the house's classic damier check, and Balmain's glam-rock look used graphic black-and-white harlequin motifs.
CONTRASTS: Mat and glossy, pattern against pattern, designers played merrily with contrasts, like Damir Doma who styled shorts from papery silk at the back, and lustrous leather in front, or Dries Van Noten where a light-as-air dress came with a wine red check at the front and pale turquoise print behind.
DOUBLE-LENGTH SKIRTS: Short at front, long behind. Balenciaga slashed skirts high up on one thigh, with a rippled gypsy flounce at the hem. Dior added a filmy train to a lollipop coloured short dress, while Yohji Yamamoto likewise sent out sage green tunics, with frayed hems and a train at the rear.
GEOMETRY: Felipe Oliveira Baptista reworked a camouflage theme as geometric panes, Hermes sent out collages of graphic patterns, and at Issey Miyake the whole collection was an abstract, geometric take on a bird in flight.
JUMPSUITS: Confirmed as a bona fide part of a woman's wardrobe, pantsuits came in linear checks at Louis Vuitton, in flowing silk at Martin Grant or Valentino, or slinky satin in Viktor and Rolf's Hollywood-tinted collection.
LAYERS/TRANSPARENCY: Everywhere this season. Stella McCartney laid sheer white tunics over discs of bright yellow, Valentino had a see-through raincoat, while Dior, Givenchy, Dries Van Noten and Giambattista Valli all played generously with sheer, shimmering layers.
POPPY RED: In dramatic floor-length gowns at Valentino, but also at Gareth Pugh, Cedric Charlier and Yohji Yamamoto, poppy red cropped up all over the runways, in flashes at Martin Grant or on summer tweed dresses at Carven.
TUXEDOS: With a signature silk foulard at Dior or a delicate lace shirt at Valentino, spelled out over a whole collection at Lanvin, tuxedos overran the Paris catwalks, in a nod to Hedi Slimane's debut at the house of Yves Saint Laurent, inventor of the woman's smoking.
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