From left: Lanvin, Valentino, Christian Dior, Viktor & Rolf, Alexander McQueen

Ruffles

Well, it just wouldn’t be Paris without a bit of frippery now, would it? A little touch of feminine mystique? Or, for that matter, a big one? The ruffle has returned, in varying states of intensity, suggesting that all work and no play makes Jane’s wardrobe a dull thing, and the fastest way to add a bit of bounce to your step is to add it to your skirt – or to your shirt, or, indeed, to your one-shouldered dress. Vive le frou-frou.

From left: Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier, Balmain, Haider Ackermann

Bi-level skirts

So what if we can no longer have our cake and eat it too, or get substantial mortgages on the basis of little income, or award ourselves ever-bigger bonuses with no explanation necessary. But we can, apparently, wear our long skirts and minis too – and all in the same garment. Bi-level black tie is the new alternative to the female tuxedo, and tempting it is, too (at least for those who like to show off their legs). It’s also good for dancing a more sophisticated can-can.

From left: Celine,Yves Saint Laurent, Hermès, Stella McCartney

White shirts

This winter’s staple item has become next season’s sure thing, though it has been sweetened up with a touch of romance, or abstracted into a more arty, less buttoned-up (often unbuttoned, or even completely sans buttons) form. No longer simply the background to a suit, selected for their ability to fade into the background, these numbers are quite tough and complex enough to stand on their own. It ain’t your boyfriend’s white shirt any more.

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Away from the catwalk: a new heel height, metres of pearls and luxury puffas

“Shoes were getting thinner and thinner, higher and higher – it was impossible for it to continue,” said Roger Vivier creative director Bruno Frisoni. His new passion is for moderate heel-making, the cool new shapes of the High Cut shoe – a geometric representation of a buckle (pictured) – or the Bollywood – a sequin-spangled number – atop a mere 10cm, or even a 6.5cm heel (last year we hit 16). And he wasn’t the only one to have discovered the joys of the low, as well as the high.

Jeweller Taher Chemirik crafted his astonishing geometric cuffs from silver as well as gold, and transformed the charm bracelet craze of yesteryear from a cutesy accessory into adult elegance via small chain links of agate and jade. At Belmacz, Julia Muggenberg showed the lightest gold links dangling three tiny oblong pearl skulls.

Marie-Hélène de Taillac hung minute gold sequins from the thinnest gold bands and Tom Binns offered 1.5m-long ropes of faux pearls to drape or twist around waist or neck. At Moncler’s Gamme Rouge, designer Giambattista Valli transformed the puffa jacket into high fashion by putting feathers “on the outside instead of the inside” – and lining the hood with silk roses. And Melanie Ward and Graham Tabor debuted their Blouson Noir line, featuring double-waisted trousers (wear them high or low) and easy knits, all inspired by ... old tea towels. It was smart, in every sense of the word.