Paris Fashion Week: the moments that mattered

Every fashion month ends in Paris, and it's always the city that matters most. This season it mattered more than usual. A wave of new creative directors showed their first collections at some of the biggest houses in the world, which made the week feel less like a run of shows and more like the start of a new chapter.

The season of debuts

Jonathan Anderson at Dior, Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, Pierpaolo Piccioli at Balenciaga, Michael Rider at Celine, and Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, the duo behind Proenza Schouler, at Loewe. That's a lot of new names in one week. Each had to balance respect for the house with a point of view of their own, and the most interesting collections managed both.

Craft came first

The common thread was a return to making. Hand-finished tailoring, intricate embroidery and fabrics that looked good up close. After years of logo-heavy collections designed for Instagram, the new guard seems more interested in clothes that feel special to wear. It's a shift that will filter down to the high street as better fabrics and more considered shapes.

Tailoring got softer

Jackets were cut closer to the body, with rounder shoulders and nipped waists. Trousers were wide but fluid rather than stiff. Skirt suits came back, often in tweed or soft wool. It's grown-up dressing that doesn't feel formal, and it's easy to copy with a good blazer and wide trousers from Massimo Dutti or Reiss.

Colour, carefully

Paris rarely goes full rainbow, but there were confident hits of colour everywhere. Butter yellow, powder blue, deep red and a lot of chocolate brown. Most designers used one strong shade per look rather than clashing, which is a useful lesson for anyone easing in.

The street style

Outside the shows, the crowd leaned polished rather than wild. Long coats over jeans, ballet flats and loafers, oversized bags and a lot of sunglasses. The editors who looked best wore simple outfits with one standout piece, usually a coat or a bag. It's the most wearable lesson of the week, and it costs nothing to copy.

The accessories worth knowing

Bags were big and soft, often slouchy leather in tan or brown. Shoes were low, with plenty of ballet flats, slim loafers and kitten heels. Jewellery was chunky and gold. If you're shopping now, a slouchy shoulder bag is the safest way to bring a bit of Paris into your wardrobe. Net-a-Porter and Selfridges are good places to see the designer versions.

What it means for you

Catwalk collections take months to reach the shops, so don't expect to buy them tomorrow. What you can do is notice the shapes and colours that kept coming up and look for them on the high street over the next few months. Softer tailoring, brown leather, a single bold colour and ballet flats are all easy wins. Mango and Zara will have their versions soon enough.

The bigger picture

With so many new designers arriving at once, the next few seasons will be fascinating. Some will hit their stride quickly, others will need time. Either way, the mood has shifted towards quality, craft and clothes that last, which is good news for anyone tired of buying things that fall apart after a few washes.

Our edit below picks out the pieces that capture the Paris mood, at prices that won't require a couture budget.

What to watch next

Debut collections are only half the story. The second season is where a designer shows whether the first was a fluke or a direction, so keep an eye on the pre-collections over the next few months. Those are the clothes that actually reach the shop floor in the largest quantities, and they tend to be more wearable than anything on the runway.

Watch the high street too. The ideas that land at Zara, COS and Mango within six weeks are usually the ones with staying power. The ones that never trickle down were mostly for the cameras. If a look is still everywhere by next spring, it's worth buying into. If it has vanished by Christmas, you saved yourself the money.