Alber Elbaz for Lanvin. Photo / Reuters
There's a fight brewing over who or what will have the most influence over next summer's clothes. Judging by shows at Paris Fashion Week, which finished on Sunday, in one corner we'll have florals, both pretty and powerful as well as other girlish frippery, feathers and the like.
And in the other corner we will have a streamlined but feminine futurism in the form of tailoring and arty but disciplined manipulations of fabric.
Paris Fashion Week is the last of the global clothing industry's most important trade shows to take place - the others are New York, London and Milan - and it's generally considered that Paris will either confirm or deny the bets that other Fashion Weeks have already placed on next summer's trends.
Milan was all about pretty, floaty and floral. And a fair few runway shows at Paris were too.
Alexander McQueen showed what was described as a passionate tribute to his recently deceased friend and mentor, stylist Isabella Blow. Which meant that models arrived in bird-of-paradise prints and pleated chiffon dresses under a pair of giant wings which also appeared on a poster depicting Blow in a horse-drawn carriage heading heavenward.
And John Galliano played it relatively safe with a collection of pretty frocks and pastel shades for his eponymous line.
Also doing a spot of flower arranging on the catwalk were the likes of the Kenzo label, Dries Van Noten and Stella McCartney.
Possibly the most important of all those doing flower power was increasingly influential designer, Nicholas Ghesquierre of Balenciaga, who put postmodern floral prints on carefully structured and shaped suits.
Meanwhile, a bunch of other designers preferred to stick to the minimal and more futuristic looks that have been more popular of late.
Alber Elbaz was loose but experimental with fabric at Lanvin, Stefano Pilati kept it simple at Yves Saint Laurent and Anne Valerie Hash, Martin Margiela and Chloe also did more streamlined versions of feminine looks.
