By Jennifer Ennis

Images from left to right (Style.com): Stella McCartney, Balmain, Elie Saab, Isabel Marant.

It’s over! What will I do after a month of viewing daily collections online every evening, watching live streams, reading every review, checking out who was sitting in the front row and who after partied? It seems ages ago since New York began and Paris ended on a very strong note on Wednesday.

And so, without further ado, here are my Top 5 collections from Paris Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2010.

Stella McCartney

This season, McCartney went back to the bare minimal with a simple, stylish and completely wearable collection. It was a very casual affair in block colours, beautiful tailoring and soft fabrics. The dresses were effortlessly chic and polished. McCartney was designing for the modern businesswoman.

The only thing I couldn’t understand was the use of Tiger Wood’s famous phone call to begin the show – cannot find the connection?!

Balmain

Christophe Decarnin, the man responsible for so many trends last year, moved slightly away from military this season and adapted a ‘Court of Versailles’ look – with a Prince soundtrack!

Decarnin stuck with his usual silhouettes (strong shoulders, short hemlines and second-skin clothes) with gold minidresses, chiffon blouses, laced booties and floor length slit ballgowns. This will surely keep his strong Balmain women (and high street stores everywhere) happy for another season.

Elie Saab

If I had to choose a red carpet dress to any event right now, it would be from this man! His stunning gowns graced many award shows this season and this new collection will provide plenty more.

Saab used a dark palette including black and grey to produce a wonderful mix of looks. He doesn’t lean towards any fancy trends or gimmicks, and instead focuses on classic timeless dresses. I particularly liked the full length sequins gowns which just ooze sophisticated glamour.

Isabel Marant

This woman is a personal favourite of mine and her 50s style Pink Ladies theme was a breadth of fresh air! No full length trousers in sight as every pair was cropped and rolled up at the calves. Plenty of bows, patterns, sequins and eyeliner decorated the models in this super feminine collection.

The big surprise was the omission of her infamous suede studded boots and instead footwear was pointy-toed pumps with bows on the side. I love that Isabel embraces change and proving to be a very versatile – cannot wait for the cropped trousers!

Alexander McQueen

I cannot write this article without mentioning the late wonderful Alexander McQueen. The fashion world was rocked by the news of his death four weeks ago and on Tuesday, sixteen of his designs which were 80% finished at the time of his death and since then completed by his team, were presented to a select few industry insiders.

Everyone was moved with the shear power and beauty of his medieval collection. McQueen’s right hand woman, Sarah Burton, explained that he wanted to return to the handcraft of his art. The print and shapes are visually stunning and we can sadly see the great legacy this man leaves behind.

Other Highlights of PFW

Other highlights of Paris Fashion Week include designers Viktor & Rolf’s presentation which sent their first model down the catwalk – wearing the entire collection!

Rick Owen’s provided his darkest and edgiest collection yet with a stomping soundtrack that gave a few front row attendees a blinding headache.

Chanel’s iceberg runway caused a few models to lose footwear as they walked through the water (the joys of the job!) and Balenciaga gave us a look at fashion in space with a sci-fi collection.

By Aisling Kennedy

The military jacket is set for a major comeback this season. Okay, so slightly disappointing for all of us die-hard leather lovers (keep your leather jacket, it’ll always be in style) but it’s definitely time for a change.

The “Flak” jacket is undeniably about to have its ‘must-have’ moment, so how about opting for a jacket with a militaristic influence?  Think brass buttons, khaki colours, beiges, creams, navy and compliment with a belted waist for a sexily cinched silhouette.

Where to buy a military jacket

The Spring/Summer 2010 catwalks were thronging with army influences. Seen prominently in the collections of Alexander Wang, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Balmain, Burberry Prosum and Aquilano Rimondi (pictured far left) all of whom featured a variation of the flak jacket in their ready-to-wear designs.

However, great alternatives can be found on the high-street, reliable fashion haunts H&M, Topshop, Oasis, and French Connection all have some form of military influenced jacket, ranging from cool denims to classic cuts with a girly twist.

An eighteenth-centuryesque military style jacket in light denim is available from H&M (€29.99) as part of their SS2010 collection. It is fitted and of a classic cut, the denim material gives it an added twist and the gold embroidered detail on the breast of the jacket is beautiful. 

For a more casual take on the trend head to Topshop, where you might just find a stud army parka jacket in sage (a light beige colour).

Oasis are retailing their military style fitted jacket (€56.00) in a dark navy, a feminine touch is added with puffed ruffled material at shoulders.

The ‘Tempest’ military jacket from French Connection in ‘utility blue’ with a Mandarin style collar would be perfect for day-wear and is that little bit fancier so it would be perfect for a glam night out.

What to wear with a military jacket

The key to really pulling of this trend is to mix it up a bit. Although classic cuts are always ageless and fantastic, try experimenting. This is a good solution to avoid becoming fatigued with this trend. The advice… Dress it up!

Source more of an unusual style or cut. 2010 is all about experimentation,  so be daring in your choices.

If you do choose a more basic style, rock what could be a “plain-Jane” jacket with a cool tee from Topshop, leggings and compliment with laced ‘boot-camp’ boots (River Island have the best selection at the moment all of which are quite reasonably priced).

Or how about wearing the flak jacket over some flirty floral prints? You can’t walk into a shop without spotting some flower prints which are ubiquitous this season. Believe me, give it three weeks and everyone will be sporting some form of floral design, and combined with the jacket it would look amazing!

Sometimes floral prints alone can be too overwhelmingly feminine, so the military style jacket will give your look an edgier feel to it.

All that’s left to do now is too march in style this Spring with a military inspired jacket. Cropped or waist-length. Prepare for bulletproof style in seconds.

Aisling Kennedy is  a fashion freelancer for WhatSheWears.ie.  She’s also a Stylestruck fashion lover with a Mad Hatter-esque love of hats and headpieces.

Image credits (from left): Aquilano Rimondi, French Connection, Topshop.

By Jennifer Ennis

The Spring/Summer 2010 Fashion Weeks ended in great style in the French capital last week with some amazing shows.  Here are three that stood out for me…

Balmain

Christophe Decarnin, the man responsible for the big shoulder pads and distressed military look everywhere at the moment, stuck with his signature look. The Balmain woman is powerful, fearless – and able to pull off second-skin clothes!

The models were warrior and gladiator-like as they stormed down the runway in shredded t-shirts, itsy bitsy shorts, skin-tight jeans, structured dresses and the infamous trademark peak-shouldered jacket. Fabrics included leather, crocodile and denim in khaki and black colours.

Balmain’s influential look can set you back a lot of lolly ($17,000/€11,565 for a jacket anyone?), so next spring you might head to Zara for replicates. In fact there are some Balmain autumn winter 09 lookalike jackets there now.

Chanel

From the opening ‘cockadoodle do’, Karl Lagerfeld’s rustic runway complete with barn house and hay shacks was a fun, relaxed affair. The collection was soft and pretty with lots of lace, chiffon and tweed in neutral, cream and black tones. The models, with lose soft hair, smiled the whole way through before a ‘roll in the hay’ at the end and a performance from Lily Allen.

Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen never disappoints and his “Plato’s Atlantis” spectacle set in an erotic underworld, was no exception. It began with a video on screen of a naked Racquel Zimmermann writhing in the water covered with snakes – not a scene for the faint hearted! The show was inspired by Darwin’s theory of evolution and the models were depicted as creatures of the sea complete with prosthetics on their faces to look like fish gills.

The collection itself was all about beautiful kaleidoscopic prints, rounded shoulders, short lengths and flowy material (which swayed like fish). The prints began with earthly tones and gradually moved to water colours depicting the idea of women morphing into underwater creatures and the sea slowly reclaiming the planet.

The main shock factor of the show was the shoes! Full credit given to those models for strutting the catwalk in those 12 inch heels. To see a close-up of the shoes, see our Flicker picture here.

This collection was clearly a stage collection and is not very wearable but, word on the fashion street is that the designs will be reinterpreted for a retail collection.

Other designers worth a mention

Gareth Pugh’s unique and doomy entirely grey collection, Givency’s striped and beautiful boating blazers (pictured) and Viktor & Rolf’s prom gowns with a soundtrack provided from Irish songstress Roisin Murphy.

Images left to right: Givency, Balmain, Balmain, Gareth Pugh.

Jennifer Ennis is an aspiring writer with a passion for fashion, music and travelling.

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London Fashion Week s/s 2010

Fashion Week Explained

Influenced By: Balmain

It’s August already and with it comes a new season, autumn. It’s hard to believe we know, but the shops are already showing their new collections.

I’ve been asked to pull together an autumn/winter work wardrobe for my sister Angela in London (more on how that goes later this month) so with a new season in mind I’ve come up with a few key Autumn pieces that we have to look forward to this season.

Strong Shoulders

The sculptured shoulder continues to be in fashion this season, which is no surprise really, especially considering how trendy the eighties are right now.  Early adapters of this look (e.g. Balmain) are still endorsing the silhouette, though autumn’s take on this look is definitely more refined.  Try dresses and jackets that have a subtler sculpted shoulder.

Buy one: A designer leather jacket by Rick Owens (£1460, €1724) from Brownsfashion.com.

Winter Shorts

While we’ve written reams about summer’s denim shorts and spring’s tailored shorts, the big thing this season is the tights-with-shorts combination. Yes, we know it’s been around in seasons past, but there’s no doubt now that it’s a full-blown trend.

This key look comes in an assortment of fabrics—from wool to leather to lamé—so finding the right pair shouldn’t be hard.

Personally, I will be going back to the city shorts I bought in Awear two seasons ago but if you do need to buy a pair, we suggest the kitsch style of these Limited Collection Pure Linen Foil Shorts from Marks and Spencers (£29.50, €35).

Thigh-High Boots

Although not applicable to a work wardrobe, we just had to mention that the thigh-high boot is one of the statement boot styles for autumn.

The shape can be either really skinny or relaxed; where the latter is a more forgiving look.

Buy some: Black suede and leather boots from Schuh (£141.37, €167)

Long-Sleeve Mini Dress

This mouthful-of-a-pronunciation-of- a-dress is having a major moment right now. And sequin detail and all things glitter will still be big news this autumn winter. 

Sarah Jessica Parker (SJP) was well ahead of the trend when she graced the cover of Grazia magazine in one during the summer.

So if you’re going to buy one dress this season, make it a mini with long sleeves. You’ll have plenty of choice in fabric too – from sequined to details of zips and studs, or simply one shouldered.

Buy one: We love this Antik Batik backless sequinned mini dress, with long sleeves of course (£364, €430) from Mywardrobe.com.

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Still Lingering: Denim Shorts

High Waisted Shorts

With summer in full swing and the summer sales not even behind us, it seems weird that we should look to autumn already. Such is the fashion evolution, the summer sales get rid of the summer gear to make way for the arrival of the autumn pieces.

This instalment of Collection We Covet is from none other than Penneys, one of our favourite places for cheap accessories and fashion on a budget.

Ironically, during times like this when everyone is speaking of the economic doom and gloom, Primark (as the UK group is known) reported stellar clothes sales for the first half of 2009. This means that, although people are broke, they can still afford to shop in Pennys.

Looking towards next season  we’ve seen what Pennys has to offer in the party wear department:

Strong shoulders

As seen in Vivienne Westwood and Balmain collections already, the strong shoulder trend is set to continue into A/W 09. This is why this floral tea dress (€18), with stark shoulder detail will be bang on the money when it hits the shops in September.

80’s one shoulder

We’re loving the fact that the asymmetric look is being carried on with this pink satin one shouldered top (€14) which has a distinct 80′s feel to it.

Sequin dress

Sequin dresses are one of the best solutions for a party. Recessionistas will revel in this cobalt blue sequin dress (€29) which is sure to sell out. Both dress and matching peep toe shoes are now in stock.

Faux fur

Yes it’s back. (Well it never left really). Penney’s have come up with a faux fur coat with a large exposed zip (€35) which will bring out the Pat Butcher in you. These short leather gloves (€8) will also come in handy once the temperature begins to drop. Both pieces arrive in September.

In this month’s installation of “Influenced By” you will find out how to copy and find key pieces from a recent designer collection that has appeared on the catwalk.

This Spring/Summer 09 it seems that everyone is falling for Christophe Decarnin’s designs for Balmain. The collection features bandage dresses, sharp shouldered jackets and slashed dresses – all fit for party after party. We simply love this stunning jacket which we saw Erin O’Connor wearing on the Model Agent of late.

Decarnin’s designs lean towards rock chick but with jeans for over €1000, not everyone can afford the real thing. The jeans pictured above are acid wash (formerly known as bleached!) and ripped.

Luckily, the high street comes up trumps again for imitating this Balmain look in the guise of TopShop and Miss Selfridge who both have the heftiest range of acid wash jeans all around the €45 – €60 mark.  If acid wash is too Eighties for you, you can always try a pair of ripped jeans, also from Topshop, or indeed, rip up your own.

Balmain’s latest catwalk show was also big on thigh skimming Body Con dresses like the pink one pictured left. The shops are flowing with this clinging style; find out where to buy Body Con and who’s wearing the style here.

Perhaps the piece de resistance from the entire collection however, are the Balmain studded and crystal sandals (€2,300).  Seen here worn with both the dress and the jeans and magnified on the bottom right hand side, they have inspired an inflow of studded sandals into the shops.

The best take off we’ve seen are these sandals (pictured top) from Topshop. Their studded heels (€85) are a much more affordable alternative to the Balmain statement shoe and with a platform-enforced sole, they even more seem comfortable to wear.

BTW if you see any alternatives to the items mentioned here; dresses, shoes, jackets or otherwise, we welcome your comments!