Azzedine Alaia triumphed with his runway return; Giambattista Valli dazzled as Paris’ newest couturier; Valentino surprised (in a good way for once!) and Karl Lagerfeld proved that he is never lacking in innovation with his collection for Chanel at the Fall 2011 Haute Couture collections in Paris. Sadly, not even the shoes from this season’s critically panned Christian Dior show were refined enough to make the list. Here’s a look at the stand-out pieces from the aforementioned collections along with some other notables, many of which we’re likely to see on the red carpet in the coming months.
1. Embellished perfection at Giambattista Valli.
2. Lost an earring? The flashlight gets a Chanel makeover with these quirky shoes that closed this season’s show.
3. Gravity-defying shoes at Jean Paul Gaultier.
4. The Valentino bow gets a rich, medieval update on the back of this beautiful long-sleeve gown.
5. An Azzedine Alaia cocktail dress lined with Mongolian fur at the hem.
6. An ethereal gown from Elie Saab.
7. Though it will most likely be re-worked so as to not be bust-revealing, there’s little doubt that we’ll see an A-lister wearing this Givenchy gown on the red carpet.
8. A Japan-inspired day look at Giorgio Armani Prive.
9. Here’s to hoping this day look from Bouchra Jarrar lands in Tilda Swinton‘s closet.
10. An aggressively luxe look from the Julien Fournie collection.
Images: Imaxtree; Alaia from WWD.
