Get ahead… A model wears a bucket hat and leather cumberband at the Dior’s tartan-heavy Paris autumn winter show (FRANCOIS GUILLOT)

Paris (AFP) – Tartan, nipped waists and lots of hats… We pick out the biggest style trends in the autumn winter collections as Paris women’s fashion week reaches it climax.

– Return of the waist –

Paris fashion has found its shape again. After several seasons when baggy ballooned into ever more exaggerated oversized, designers are back cutting to the body.

Sharply tailored looks that followed and flattered the contours of the body reconquered the catwalk, from the reborn glamour of Glenn Martens’ Y/Project to Atlein and the relentless sexiness of Saint Laurent, which premiered its “nappy” hotpants, shorter than micro minis but with no danger of them rolling up to reveal more than they should.

Dior and Olivier Theyskens nipped waists, the former inspired by 1950s Teddy Girls, while Lanvin’s promising newbie creator Bruno Sialelli ghosted a couple of corset lines into his clothes. Even oversized’s former prophet Rick Owens refound his love of sharp body-hugging lines.

With belts de rigueur, designers rediscovered the joys of a waist after years of draping and enormous coats.

– Tartan army –

If you are going to add anything to your wardrobe for next winter, make sure its tartan. Or at least some kind of plaid.

Tartan, Prince of Wales check and houndstooth have blanketed the Paris catwalk from the bold, blocky lumberjack tartans at retro Dior to the acid plaid of young guns Ottolinger and Marine Serre to India’s Rahul Mishra.

They were a key element in Lanvin’s folky romantic revival, at Loewe and Hedi Slimane relied heavily on them for the handbrake turn he performed at Celine, going from skinny black-clad rock chick waifs to horsey culotte-wearing country types in pussy bow blouses and boyfriend jackets.

Chloe mixed understated grey and brown check suits, trousers and skirts with nifty mid-calf red tartan boots, while Virgil Abloh sent out his Off-White supermodels onto a chequerboard set with Gigi Hadid dressed as a chequered “super-shero” (she hero).

Loewe invented its own tartan while Andreas Kronthaler, who now designs for his wife Vivienne Westwood — the woman who brought red tartan back into fashion with punk — packed his ultra glamorous show with houndstooth.

– You can’t top a hat –

Until Hedi Slimane radically changed tack Friday, Celine and Saint Laurent had been in danger of becoming mirror images of each other, Slimane having long led YSL. 

Both also insist on hats with Slimane sending out gaucho riding hats at Celine while Anthony Vaccarello opted for silky fedoras at Saint Laurent. Both looked cooler than cool. 

Dior put a retro bucket hat on every one of its models and Nina Ricci turned up the 1950s vibe a further notch with huge cloche hats big enough to store your sandwiches in.

Lanvin went with for a more romantic tone with a series of dreamy outsized sou’westers.

– Power flowers –

Paris catwalks did not go all floral with the first shoots of northern hemisphere spring, but flowers made big statements in several collections.

The Flemish master Dries Van Noten said it with roses with gorgeous acidulated prints of blossoms from in his garden, while Japan’s Junya Watanabe spliced together a whole array of floral and paisley patterns for his more street collection.

Leonard packed a whole garden centre into its vivid blue and fuchsia-heavy designs while French brand Kenzo upped the vegetal ante with huge tomato and red pepper prints.

Over at Saint Laurent Vaccarello used rich dark petal bursts to break the slick monotony of his midnight blacks.

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