PFW, SS13.

That's it! The Spring Summer 2013 shows ended yesterday in Paris with an escalator spectacle at Louis Vuitton and some runway veterans: Hilary Rhoda and Malgosia Bela making a return to the catwalk at Miu Miu. Like my other fashion week posts, this one will focus on my personal highlights from the last of the fashion weeks, Paris - including my favourite show of the season.

Check mate: Louis Vuitton's spectacular finale.

1. All that glitters
Metallics hit the runways in a big way this season and Paris certainly didn't hold out. Alexander McQueen had prints all over metallic fabrics and at Elie Saab, the heavily embellished dresses looked incredible with the flashbulb frenzy caused by the photographers. Looks like everyone will be dazzling next summer, however they choose to wear this trend.

 

Elie Saab (left) and Alexander McQueen (right)

2. In with the new
Two massive French fashion houses: Saint Laurent (formally Yves Saint Laurent) and Christian Dior were under new creative direction this season so all eyes were definitely upon them. Raf Simons at Dior moved the brand forward with simplistic cuts, sheer overlays and contrasting colours. Whereas Hedi Slimane looked to the past for his debut Saint Laurent collection, with pieces being heavily influenced by the 1970s: pussy bows, cigarette pants and oversized hats.

Christian Dior (left) and Saint Laurent (right)

3. Best of the best
Lanvin took the crown for best collection this season for me. It's a show I always look forward to as Alber Elbaz knows glamour like no one else. The key colour, surprisingly for Spring, was black, which made the whole collection chic, sophisticated and very sexy. Similar to Balmain, there were exaggerated shoulders which is a new silhouette for the brand, but they were definitely executed in typical Lanvin perfection. Once again, glittery embellishment made some key pieces really stand out.

4.WTF moment
Karl Lagerfeld shocked media everywhere at Chanel this season by presenting a very unusual 'Hula-hoop' bag. Whether or not the bag will actually be put into production is another question, but it certainly got a lot of attention!