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Paris Gears Up for Fashion Week

By Hayley Pedrick
Last updated at 16:44:00 PM on 09 December 2011

Santa will barely have had time to hang-up his boots and before the world’s elite fashion houses flood the Parisian catwalks with the new 2012 clothing trends, declaring every item of clothing he’s just worked so hard to deliver “so passé”.

Paris is the last leg of the 2012 Spring/ Summer tour, which graced the cities of New York, London and Milan before arriving in the city of chic. Buyers will travel from all over the world to view the collections of the infamous French designers. Most will stay over in a nearby hotel to make sure they are able to easily attend all the shows and indulge in some of the after parties and off-calendar events that happen throughout the week. Luxury lodgings such as the 4-star Westin Paris hotel, which is relatively close to the Carrousel du Louvre where the shows will be held, are sure to do well during the week-long event.

Attendance at Paris Fashion Week, is by invitation only, meaning the shows are off-limits to members of the general public, with avid fashionistas having to rely on media coverage, fashion house announcements and celebrity trend-setters to reveal what the hottest clothing items be in the coming months.

Some sharp fashion bloggers are already predicting that 1960’s style will experience a revival, with a the 1920’s also having a subtle influence; that “doctor’s bags” will be the next “have to hold” arm-candy trend; and that loose and relaxed tailoring will trump the current skinnies on the men’s clothing scene. Still, the world waits with baited breath to see whether the likes of Christian Dior, Balenciaga and Jean Paul Gaultier will confirm the rumours or blown them completely out of the water.

Paris Fashion Week commences with the Men’s fashion shows, which will take up the first half of the week. While there will be plenty of excitement surrounding the unveiling of the new men’s clothing lines, for most the main highlight will be the Haute Couture shows, which take place towards the back-end of the week.

Paris has been defined as “the leading arbiter of fashion since the Renaissance”, with the rise of designer-dressmakers putting the capital at the centre of the global fashion map as early as the 19^th Century. And even today most of the world’s most highly celebrated designers have fashion houseshere.Parisians are often thought to exhibit effortless fashion-flare, but it would be impossible not to when you grow-up on the doorstep of great designers such as Nina Ricci, Yves Saint Laurent and Hubert de Givenchy.

Despite the fact that Paris Fashion Week is closed to all but fashions most valued-insiders, travellers will find the city a-buzz with fashion-fever during the event. If you’re a fashion-addict there is no better time to plan a shopping-spree in the city, filling your style-file with trend-gems fed to you from the mouths of the designers themselves and their celebrity followers.

For more information about the January 2012 Paris Fashion Week event, visit the official “modeaparis” website.