Paris Fashion Week A/W 2016 womenswear editor’s picks

Saint Laurent: Every ball chair at Hedi Slimane’s haute couture show was engraved with the guest’s name. Photography: Antonio Camera

Nicholas Kirkwood: The London-based shoe designer dropped into Paris to stage a dark, sultry presentation of his directional footwear

Esteban Cortazar: Rappers Lil’ Kim and Missy Elliott gave Esteban Cortazar his launch pad this season, their inspiration adding a good dose of street smarts to his sculptural leather designs. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Maticevski: Melbourne designer Toni Maticevski sauntered into A/W 2016 with a seductive collection that fused a primal strength with soft, free-spirited ruffles. Working in a monochromatic palette the designer draped lacquered black patent as freely as he did organic silk and the effect was a synthesis of power and femininity

Thomasine: Parisian leather glover maker Thomasine presented a ‘garden of gloves’ that were as delicately hand crafted as they were beautiful on the eye

PRIM by Michelle Elie: For PRIM designer Michelle Elie took inspiration from painter Eileen Gray’s first architectural house E-1027 for these wooden, bucket shaped bags

Givenchy:  Riccardo Tisci collaged more prints and patterns (from snake to leopard and paisley) than we’ve seen for some time at Givenchy, for an A/W collection that tapped into Egyptian symbolism, albeit remixed with an eye on current Pop culture. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Thomas Tait: The Londoner skipped LFW this season for a more intimate presentation at the Galerie Almine Rech in Paris. Eastern influences, from a recent trip to Japan, combined with his signature Western bravado, led to a wonderfully patchworked collection that was brimming with clever detailing from smocking to pleating at every turn

Barbara Casasola: This season was all about the finest cashmere coats and elegant yet powerful suiting. Barbara Casasola gives the modern woman all she needs

Kolor: Japanese label Kolor’s presentation toyed with the real and unreal. Pictures of living models were accompanied by mannequins, faux looking fur stood next to real looking fake fur and fun prints where patched with clean coloured fabrics

Chalayan: High tech digital dashboards beamed us up at Hussein Chalayan, in fact inspired by a Seventies pattern magazine Burda. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Pierre Hardy: We had a Mod moment at Pierre Hardy with his cubist satchel bag and white pant ankle boots jetting us into autumn

Yohji Yamamoto: Dark and deeply minimal, Yohji Yamamoto stayed on his monastic track for winter, delivering a collection of superbly crafted layers of black, black and more black.  There were of course, the odd word or two, written in black and white that read like strips of torn newspaper headlines against this purist palette. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Issey Miyake: On the eve of founder Issey Miyake’s milestone exhibition in Japan, which opens next month and spans 45 years of design legacy, Technicolor optical illusionary pieces were the standouts on Yoshiyuki Miyamae’s winter runway. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Loewe: A lovely installation greeted guests at the Loewe showroom in Paris including the show’s transparent stools, filled with household paraphernalia

Mugler: Lashings of leather, leopard, croc and fringe made up David Koma’s sunny albeit sinuous winter collection. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Hillier Bartley: Their showroom may look calm and clean but Katie Hillier and Luella Bartley have been bombarded by a constant stream of female fashion editors clamoring to get their hands on the duo’s chic wearable designs from their Hillier Bartley label. Watch out for their mum jeans and covetable carpet coats this winter

Delvaux: Clean lines and beautiful camel tones summed up Delvaux’s autumnal clutches

Neil Barrett: Retro classics, high waisted leather trousers and graphic knits. A modern interpretations on the Seventies by Neil Barrett

Haider Ackermann: The designer stuck to his favourite formula for winter sending out skin-tight pants, atop needle thin stiletto heels and sweeping coats with sucked-in shoulders cut from rich velvet. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Ann Demeulemeester: Even Ann Demeulemeester creative director Sebastien Meunier was onboard Paris’ high shine invasion with pewter and silver long line jackets accompanying his twisted inky tailoring. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Roger Vivier: Bruno Frisoni looked to the rocking 1980s for his latest shoe and handbag collection for Roger Vivier

Charlotte Chesnais: The French jeweller presented her latest jewellery collection within the cool confines of Colette, however it was her new Ada bracelet that won all our attention for its fluid, sculptural weight 

Vetements: Located within the America Cathedral in Paris, the fashion pack came to worship at the alter of Demna and Guram Gvasalia, ahead of the former’s first Balenciaga show as creative director on Sunday. The church’s narrow pews were rearranged to create an intimate catwalk, which was all the better to view their latest streetwear subversion – this season toying with prep school classics from pleated minis to Prince of Wales check, along with plenty of American Pop culture centric slogan tees. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Tomasini: Emmanuel Tomasini’s signature Porsche speed stripes were back for his fourth season adorning leopard and textured leather clutches for A/W 2016

Balmain: Olivier Rousteing dialled down the Baroque glitz with a predominately pastel collection built on a foundation of lace-up corsetry. That said, there were plenty of feminine ruffles and just a hint of Versailles-issue gold filigree thrown in for good measure. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Moynat: Creative director Ramesh Nair introduced us to his latest Moynat designs, including the softly rounded Paradis, Opera box, Rejane clutch and suede hand held Danse all of which are hand made in the maison’s workshop just a stone’s throw from its Paris flagship store

Vionnet: Best in show at Vionnet were the pleated metallic rib knit dresses, Grecian gowns with threaded shoulder straps and wide legged trousers that gave new meaning to the term voluminous. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Rochas: There was a vintage eccentricity to Rochas autumn show, which was doused with a soft femininity witnessed in Alessandro Dell’Acqua’s ruffled tea dresses, shimmering textural columns and lustrous Seventies super flares. All were accompanied by thigh high socks and extreme, satin or embroidered velvet platformed sandals that downplayed the collection’s uncontested prettiness. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Lancel: The Bianca de Lancel satchel bag gets a mini me reincarnation for autumn in a primary palette

Yang Li: Fluorescent tube lighting lit the runway of the Beijing-born, Perth raised designer who showed a deconstruction A/W collection of cocoon-shaped coats and plaid or corduroy tailoring pieces that were often fastened to one side with a raw-edged selvedge that also darted up a fraying central back seam. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Cedric Charlier: Working with a primary palette of mellow yellow, ruby red, navy and cream, Cedric Charlier’s preppy blazers, pinafore dresses teamed with sky blue shirts, toy soldier pea coats, sailor’s pants and striped turtlenecks, were imbued with a fresh collegic vibe. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Jacquemus: Titled ’La Reconstruction’, designer Simon Porte Jacquemus deconstructed and then reinforced his A/W 2016 collection, which saw rib knits padded with Gridiron-worthy shoulders, crop-tops suspended skywards and the classic pin striped suit slashed from the shoulder to thigh and then secured with ties. Even the show’s soundtrack skipped the usual beat, having been purposely cut in stop starts, which sounded as though the CD was severely scratched and asking to be binned. Stat. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Coach: The American brand took over the grandiose Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild to throw the class of Paris Fashion Week A/W 2016 Raf Simons and Edie Campbell included a prom party to remember. With corsages dutifully pinned, guests were then treated to a live performance by Prom Queen Debbie Harry

Y/Project: The Parisian brand helmed by Belgian Glenn Martens made its womenswear debut within the Marais’ somewhat ’derelique’ Lycée Charlemagne for A/W 2016. On the runway it was all about the dropped shoulder and a gathered, voluminous sleeve, but we couldn’t help looking up at the artfully peeling ceiling that was only outdone by the painted one we spotted on the staircase coming in. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans