It’s been a whirlwind of a month in fashion, with Paris being the last fashion week to close. The collections that walked on the Parisian runways were intellectually and aesthetically engaged.

Paris, being the locus of all fashion weeks, was particularly monumental, packed with several fashion revivals and over the top show productions. Bodies were more covered up than they have been in a long time.

We witnessed Balenciaga’s nostalgia looking back to its founding father’s designs and producing a mature, chic collection under Demna Gvasalia. It was rife with silk, asymmetry and structure, so different from the maison’s out-of-the-box approach under the designer, who is also Vetements head honcho. Balmain’s collection was the wild West meets the Amazonian huntress, in a line with a strong, tan-focused color story and too many variations of leather to count.

As the fashion crowd flew out of France, Saint Laurent was in the cross hairs because of a new campaign. The poster campaign in Paris depicted skinny girls in fishnets and stiletto roller skates, legs spread wide. It has caused fury on social media. It was widely protested as “degrading” to women. But here’s the thing: Woman-as-sex-toy is so last season. Power dressing has a new look — one that doesn’t have to do with imitating the job you want, but rather having the confidence to do what you have to do.

Here are the top trends you should be watching as the year progresses. It’s never too early to start!

This brings us to the end of Fall 2017 Fashion Week Trend Reports. Stay tuned for the release of TRUTHFUL CONSUMERISM, a trend-driven consumer trend report that will be out soon 🙂

“COVER ME IN LEATHER”

Alexander McQueen; Stella McCartney and Akris.

“FURRY SLEEVES ”

Cavern; YProject and Dries Van Noten.

“CAPES”

Alexis Mabille; Chloé and Veronique Branquinho.

“SILVER”

Off-White; Nehera and Lutz Huelle.

“VERTICAL STRIPES”

Melitta Baumeister; Acne Studios and Issey Miyake