Best in shows: our favourite S/S 2014 collections shone with modern silhouettes and a pared-back palette

Hermès
Marrying luxe fabrications with classic cuts is Hermès’ calling card, so for designer Véronique Nichanian’s 25th anniversary, the refined pairings continued with precious python skins holidaying as a simple boat-neck tee.

Top, £14,100, by Hermès

Ermenegildo Zegna Couture
For his debut collection, Stefano Pilati played with proportion, rethinking the jacket from its collar-buttoning to its lapel widths, while also igniting a trend for exaggerated sleeve lengths.

Coat, £2,120; jumper, price on request; trousers, £680, all by Ermenegildo Zegna Couture

Calvin Klein Collection
Francisco Costa’s milestone, ten-year anniversary explored the full potential of luxurious minimalism, from tactile silk T-shirts to the elaborate basket weave of his deconstructed fabrics.

Top, £1,130; trousers, £1,580, both by Calvin Klein Collection

Fendi
A pixelated flower print united the organic and digital worlds at Fendi, which saw Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Fendi’s lightweight coat of laser-cut mink, floating on a base of organza.

Coat, £16,450, by Fendi

Brioni
Rome via London, this was Englishman Brendan Mullane’s ode to Italy’s neo-realist cinema, relaxing the suit’s formality with gentlemanly checks, short-sleeve knitwear and silken bomber jackets.

Jacket, £2,650, by Brioni

Dior
Interrupting the traditional house narrative, Raf Simons’ hyper-reality ‘Trans Dior’ collection called for a slightly surreal Through the Looking-Glass approach, with knit dresses bonded to stiff internal structures and his pleated shorts easily mistaken for skirts.

Dress, £2,300; shorts, £2,500, both by Dior

Salvatore Ferragamo
Pushing the storied Italian house forward, Massimiliano Giornetti’s deconstructed suiting toyed with a sportif sexiness, from asymmetric pleated kilts to abbreviated knitwear.

Top, £725; skirt, £489, both by Salvatore Ferragamo. ‘Fold’ chair, €1,990, by Olivier Grégoire, from Specimen Editions

Richard Nicoll
For his brand’s tenth birthday, the London-based designer offered a rose-coloured view of the future with his diaphanous pastel-pink layers mimicking the show’s bubble-gum hued benches.

Dress, £625, by Richard Nicoll

Lanvin
Alber Elbaz’s molten metallics for spring were gift-wrapped with a high-shine shimmer. The collection was an ode to the inventiveness of the fabric industry, with tactile textures from lamé to Lurex.

Dress, £2,410, by Lanvin

Comme des Garçons
Rei Kawakubo’s deconstructed tailoring spoke of an iron-free summer ahead – her crumpled patchwork jackets turned inside out, while trousers were similarly scrunched.

Jacket, €918; top, €382; trousers, €370, all by Comme des Garçons

Models: Josephine van Delden at Women Management Paris, Tommaso at Tomorrow Is Another Day; Casting: Eddy Martin for File and Parade; Hair: Peter Gray for L’Oréal Paris Hair Expertise; Hair assistant: Takayuki Shibata; Make-up: Ariel Yeh using NARS cosmetics and Clarins skincare; Set design: Sylvain Cabouat at Michele Filomeno