BOTTEGA VENETA

A haiku to the perfection of understated luxury – all fine wool, crepe and slim, sliced-off jackets with full, softly pleated skirts – this label, like Hermès, is for the super-rich who are beyond red-carpet fashion statements. It’s about star quality – think Lauren Bacall and Kim Novak – rather than crude celebrity. Simplicity built on complex cut, proportion and the highest-quality fabrics is the formula for these shrug-on-and-forget clothes.

BURBERRY PRORSUM

The designer Christopher Bailey has a romantic eye, but this season he tempered it with a level of rigour that gave his collection a strong, sexy, tough look. Dark and sombre, much of the daywear seemed to have been conceived as a carapace against the times: a slim silhouette was padded and puffed out to form a protective layer; long biker gloves and high boots were further protection against unknown assailants. Does young Bailey know something the rest of us don’t? Although his obsession with studs and grommets seemed old-fashioned in many of its biker references, this was a collection that cool urbanites will go for in a serious way.

PRADA

There is no end to this label’s ability to shock and delight. Taking the newborn-chick fluffy fabrics and teddy-bear coats of her menswear collection, Miuccia Prada added felt and then abused it – many of her fabrics were bubbled and burnt, as if they had been plunged into an acid bath. Whereas Burberry foresaw a possible urban holocaust, Prada shoved us right into the thick of it, with blistered grey flannel and violently aggressive green, blue and orange tones that deliberately alienated. But then she threw in some fabulously wearable leather coats and suits, shown casually with schoolboy-style knee stockings. The influence of this collection will be felt for years to come.

COMME DES GARCONS

The fact that a sense of humour lurks behind this directional label came as a surprise to many, who had been taken in by its rather lugubrious face. This time, however, it was unavoidable. Candyfloss pink and mauve, butter yellow and cornflower blue: the palette was young, and so were the narrow, unstructured shapes. But then came the fun: a shirt that morphed into low-slung trousers; lifelike padded hands groping the body of jackets and trousers. It was an extraordinarily original show that served to remind me what it is I love about this label: infuriating and bewildering though many find it, it defies indifference on any level.

VIKTOR & ROLF

These boys love to give us a jolt, and this season, it was a real electric shock (almost literally), as the models walked down the catwalk, each carrying her own gantry and lights, so each outfit was its own fashion show. High-heeled clogs, ethnic fabrics, skirts lit from inside, pleated shoulders, cropped trousers, dirndl skirts – hiding within the astounding presentation was a strong collection that recalled the Netherlands, their home country, more than they normally allow.

DIOR

This season, Dior went beyond glamour, with John Galliano’s spectacular collection eclipsing just about everything else we saw in any fashion city. Hollywood grand entrances in the Joan Crawford manner were what these ultra-feminine clothes were about. And if that made them seem a bit anachronistic, it certainly didn’t dull their magnificence ortheir femininity. The colours rangedfrom the palest dove grey to Day-Glo orange; the fabrics were silk, chiffon, suede, python, cashmere, fur. Overwhelming at times, this was a homage to what the house has stood for since its founding 60 years ago. But take away the excess, and you find a collection not of costume, but of glorious clothes for women today – the sort with a lifestyle to live up to.

BRITS TO WATCH

Nathan Jenden

Creative director at Diane von Furstenberg, Jenden comes with convincing credentials, but his first show was as shaky as the derelict hall he chose as his venue. It contained glamorous shapes, but everything was subverted by fuss – bows, veils and brothel creepers all fought the aesthetic of the garment. There is talent here, but Jenden does not yet know how to meld raw London sensibility with its tamer New York counterpart.

Gareth Pugh

You can’t be an enfant terrible for ever. Pugh knows that, and this season he finally gave us some garments women could actually wear. There is an unEnglish elegance in his aesthetic, which could, one day, take him to great things in Paris.

Marios Schwab

Thoughtful, careful, modest: Schwab’s approach is craftsmanlike and considered. With volumes rolling away from the body, padded parka dresses and fabric cut like sections of a football, there was a sportswear feel to the collection. Cleverly thought out though it was, the clothes often looked awkward.

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