And so it begins: the spring edition of the biannual fashion frenzy collectively referred to as Fashion Month, also known as New York/London/Milan/Paris Fashion Weeks.

Commonly more optimistic and upbeat than its autumn counterpart (perhaps a reflection of the mood of its season?), the world’s most sartorially and genetically gifted have already filed into New York City to both see and be seen; after eight days, they will move on to London and so forth.

New York Fashion Week officially kicked off the festivities with a bang last night in the form of Fashion’s Night Out. But the day before, locally-based designer Rachel Comey showed next season’s collection against the white open space of Pier 59 Studios, featuring bokeh prints and colourful embellishments for a collection that was elegant and relaxed and I-can-picture-that-in-my-wardrobe-already-wearable yet somehow quietly subversive; above all, it was playful, fun and feminine. Summer 2012 may be over but can it be spring 2013 already please?

Rachel Comey spring/summer 2013 show at NYFW /Armando Grillo via NYmag.com

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New York, London, Milan & Paris Fashion Weeks.

Smythson Runway textured-leather notebook / Net-A-Porter

There are, I’m sure, a limited number of people out there who would look at Sarah Burton’s latest collection for Alexander McQueen and think, “Ooh! I would wear that!” But wearable is possibly the last word one would use to describe the clothes seen on a McQueen runway anyway. Wearable they are not; what they are is a brilliant manifestation of the intersection of artistry, drama and the form of the human body.  

Romantic, feminine and striking, for autumn/winter Burton took the darkness of the McQueen aesthetic and imbued it with a sort of nostalgic fantasy that manifested itself in dusky autumn flora. Close-up shots revealed the embroidery, the deft way in which the collars fell to subvert our notions of tailoring, and the intricate layers of chiffon that seemed to revel in artistry. This was fashion literally rendered as beauty. Methinks Alexander McQueen would be proud.  

Alexander McQueen autumn/winter 2012/13 at Paris Fashion Week / Monica Feudi via vogue.com

Some totally incongruent but standout looks I love from the Hermès show: a bouclé men’s suit, a scarf tied à la sexily undone tie, a peek of a leather collar and some crazy-ass prints in appropriately autumnal colours. 

Frida Gustavsson, Ajak Deng and Akuol de Mabior X Hermès autumn/winter 2012/13 at Paris Fashion Week / vogue.com

So perhaps Guillaume Henry’s latest collection for Carven isn’t going to change the [fashion] world. Relying on fairly standard shapes, even some of the cocoon-like dresses he displayed on the runway were nothing new, at least not this season anyway.

But then, nothing in fashion is new anymore - it’s all about the reinvention, and here Henry delivered, reimagining classics with quirk, humour and a healthy dose of personality. The colour! The shapes! The seemingly astrology-inspired laser-cut detailing! And the transformation of a metaphor-loaded Hieronymus Bosch triptych into a print on skirts and dresses for the girl who’s intellectual and cool - and she knows it. 

I may not be either, but what I do know is that I’m going to start saving stat for every. single. one. of these Carven pieces. 

Emeline, Ellen Pinaffi, Zuzana Stankiewicz and Aussie model Chrystal Copland X Carven autumn/winter 2012/13 at Paris Fashion Week / Alessandro Garofalo via vogue.com

It was Bordeaux-boy Olivier Rousteing’s second season at the helm of Balmain, and already, he is evolving from predecessor Christophe Decarnin’s wildly sexed-up rocker chic to create an aesthetic that also draws influences from couture techniques and ideologies.

The result was a collection that, although fairly cohesive, still had moments that were better than others. Marrying a sort of Byzantine excessiveness with tailored, androgynous shapes resulted in Karlie Kloss looking boss in a fitted sweater and gilded pants, and other models wearing jackets that, well, looked like tanks. Michelin Man-padded tanks. And no woman wants to look like that (although it would be very practical padding).

Nadja Bender, Anna Selezneva, Karlie Kloss looking incredibly hot, Anna Selezneva again and Kasia Struss X Balmain autumn/winter 2012/13 at Paris Fashion Week / vogue.com

If Milan is the fashion world’s peacock habitat, all vibrancy, flash and glamour, then Paris is perhaps home to the falcon: a subtle, creative breed with a sharp sense of direction.

It’s fitting then, that Dries Van Noten shows at Paris Fashion Week. His subversive sense of style, courtesy of his homeland Belgium, blends beautifully with the city’s understated sartorial aesthetic – and it this skill for blending that shone through in this latest collection. Although the term ‘East-meets-West’ often brings to mind imperialist notions of  ‘orientalism’, Van Noten proved that when done based on pure appreciation of aesthetic, cultures can indeed be married for a tasteful, and ultimately glorious, result.

Taking inspiration from traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese art as seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the colour, form and clean lines of Eastern art were appropriated into modern tailored pieces that carried a hint of the military and of masculinity. The Ming vase blues, vibrant oranges and reds and graphic shapes worked surprisingly well with the dusky khakis for an effect that was neither dreary, as khaki can sometimes be on its own, nor excessive, as the colours and prints could have been on their own.

Prints were cut and pasted into graphic pop-art forms, but balanced with black and white. Indeed, Van Noten expertly blended Asian iconography with wit and militant sophistication. The resulting collection was wearable and simply beautiful. Bold but not flashy, intellectual but not erudite, this collection is surely an example of what an acute sense of design, self and culture can result in. 

Dries Van Noten autumn/winter 2012/13 at Paris Fashion Week / vogue.com

If haute couture is about class, artistry and elegance, then the stars who lined the front row in Paris and their fashion choices were a perfect reflection of this.

Leading ladies such as Cameron Diaz and Jessica Chastain opted for classic minimalism as they watched handiwork from the likes of Karl Lagerfeld and Giorgio Armani parade down the catwalk at Chanel and Armani respectively. 

Diaz paired a sleek off-white dress from Chanel’s Cruise Antibes collection with a clutch and coat, while Chastain wore a minimal black shift that was far from dull, thanks to fluoro orange accents and a luminous smile sparked by hearing her Oscar nomination.

Taking easy Parisian elegance to another level were Vanessa Paradis and Alice Dellal at Chanel. Paradis’ jacket from Chanel’s ready-to-wear spring/summer ’11 collection was worn over a silk maxi for a luxe bohemian look, while Dellal paired a delicate lace Chanel haute couture top with punk accessories and a vintage skirt.

Heralding a return to old-school Parisian glamour was Russian stylist and designer Ulyana Sergeenko at Giambattista Valli, who piled curls on top of her head for a sleek yet sensuous hairstyle. Paired with the ultra-classy, demure and ladylike floral dress she was wearing, it seemed to hark back to an era when fashion was the sumptuous, lavish domain of the Parisian bourgeoisie.

See more images from Paris haute couture at vogue.com.au

Ulyana Sergeenko at Giambattista Valli Haute Couture S/S 2012/13 / vogue.com.au

Kasia Struss, Sigrid Agren, Candice Swanepoel, Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine X Chanel / Yannis Vlamos X GoRunway.com via vogue.com

Kate King, Vika Falileeva, Bette Franke, Patricia van der Vliet, Daga Ziober, Julia Nobis X Chloé / vogue.com

Sigrid Agren, Siri Tollerød, Jasmine Tookes, Frida Gustavvson, Kate Moss X Louis Vuitton / vogue.com