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1. The Fashion Crowd Honored Alaïa

The collections kicked off this season with a different kind of show: a homage to the designer Azzedine Alaïa, who died unexpectedly last November, in the form of a jewel-like exhibit. Approximately 40 pieces of his work from the 1980s to last year were on display in the gallery of his Marais headquarters — and over a thousand people (Peter Marino, Marc Newson, Courtney Love, Sophie Hicks and Farida Khelfa among them) crowded in to pay their respects. The crowd was so thick that it packed the inner courtyard, creating a traffic jam at the door and testifying to the depth and breadth of the late designer’s friendships and fans. Many were drawn like a magnet to the kitchen, where Alaïa famously hosted riotous dinners that went long into the night. Naomi Campbell broke out the chilled vodka in his honor. It was his drink, and his night. — VANESSA FRIEDMAN, fashion director, Styles

2. Clare Waight Keller Had a Strong Couture Debut

Eight years ago, the former designer Riccardo Tisci took Givenchy out of the couture show game — but this January, Clare Waight Keller, who joined the house in March of last year after six years at Chloé, brought it back in. It was a risky move for all sorts of reasons, not least because Waight Keller had never worked with a couture atelier before, but she pulled it off with aplomb. The collection was something of a revelation: by far the most sophisticated, tightly woven show she has done yet. There’s been a lot of worry this week in the front row over the fact that with Phoebe Philo’s departure from Céline, adult women in search of clothes that combine intelligence, elegance and comfort were not going to have a place to shop, but if Waight Keller’s couture is any indication, Givenchy may well become their new destination. Oh, and she threw in some couture for men for good measure too. — V.F.

3. The Hats at Valentino Stood Out

When the first look of Valentino, the last show of the season, appeared in the gilded halls of the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, the audience breathed an unconscious sigh of delight. It wasn’t just thanks to the luscious palette or sense of luxurious ease conveyed by the clothes, but also because of what topped them off: an enormous umbrella hat covered in aquamarine ostrich feathers trailing jellyfish fronds. Pierpaolo Piccioli, Valentino’s creative director, had never used hats in a collection before, but this time around he teamed up with the British milliner Philip Treacy to enchanting effect. Apart from the feathered fancies, there were coronas of leaves in fuchsia and jade green that bristled like haute dandelions on the model’s heads, capping off a remarkable outing that took the elements of classic high fashion — ruffles, volumes, bows, embroidery, taffeta — and rendered them weightless, and without pomposity: couture for the era of the casual everyday. — V.F.

4. John Galliano Showed Technicolor Dream Coats

In an era where most of the front row tends to view fashion shows through their smartphones, John Galliano took that 21st-century industry reality and reflected it — both figuratively and literally — within his latest couture collection for Maison Margiela. This season, Galliano and his team developed a special holographic fabric that looked like black nylon when viewed with the naked eye, but when viewed through a phone camera with flash, it transformed into shimmering panels of holographic rainbows, different to the eye of every beholder. It was all about “freezing the glamour of the accidental, the magical moment,” Galliano said. The collection featured oversize parkas sewn into slips or polka dot dresses, and bustiers atop trench coats, all of which shimmered in states of psychedelic transformation as the models walked past. It is rare these days to find fashion that feels truly boundary-breaking in philosophy and finish. This show, however, was one of them. — ELIZABETH PATON, European correspondent, Styles

5. Iris Van Herpen Defied The Laws of Physics — Again

The couture of Iris Van Herpen exists in its own space between technology and tradition; the Dutch designer often uses avant-garde techniques such as laser cutting, 3D-printing and heat bonding to create extraordinary pieces of wearable art, and this season was no exception. On Monday, at her “Games of Nature” show held at the Galerie de Minéralogie et de Géologie, Van Herpen had found inspiration from photographs of various landscapes seen from the sky. These ideas found form in whispers of structured tulle: first, with cloudlike gowns that seemed to float up and away from the body, etched with iridescent patterns that meandered like tributaries, or else in more fitted silhouettes finished with laser-cut fragments that quivered against the wearer like a second skin. Soft and feminine, familiar yet also futuristic and presented beneath giant cellulose sculptures by the Dutch artist Peter Gentenaar that hung suspended from the vaulted ceiling, it was a collection rooted in the beauty of the earth, while also being out of this world. — E.P.

6. For Coco Rocha, It Was Take Your Daughter To Work Day

Supermodels who are the scions of, well, supermodels, are all the rage these days. But Bella Hadid and Kaia Gerber need to watch their backs because there is a new girl in town: Ioni Conran stole the show at Jean Paul Gaultier on Wednesday when she took to the runway alongside her mother, Coco Rocha. Sporting matching blue gowns, black gloves, white tights and sky-high corkscrew ponytails, the duo closed the show by skipping along the catwalk, striking poses along the way and melting hearts in the process (did we mention Ioni is only 3?) Couture has rarely looked so cute. — E.P.

7. Dior Threw The Party of the Week

There is a fantasy attached to attending the couture shows. While many of the guests in attendance are couture clients, we journalists often have to stretch in order to imagine the world in which these creations live.

Thanks to Dior, we didn’t have to dream too hard: For the second year in a row, the house’s couture show was followed by a fantastical, spectacular ball at the Musée Rodin. Dior’s artistic director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, presented a dreamy, Surrealist-inspired collection filled with diaphanous trompe l’oeil dresses and playful face masks designed by Stephen Jones. The venue then transformed into a grand masquerade ball, where 800 guests — including Bella Hadid and Monica Bellucci — dressed in their finest gowns, tuxedos and over-the-top masks, danced the night away. What better way to celebrate a great collection? — MALINA JOSEPH GILCHRIST, style director, women’s, T Magazine

8. But The Week Wasn’t Only About Couture

It’s only January, but we’ve already gotten a glimpse of some fall/winter 2018 collections, ahead of the ready-to-wear season next month. Since it moved onto the Paris schedule last summer, Proenza Schouler has become something to look forward to during couture — and this week, Ellery and Acne followed suit.

From the looks of those ready-to-wear shows, some strong themes for the season have begun to emerge. All three designers alluded to the ’70s in some way. At Proenza, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez nodded to arts and crafts in the form of tie-dye turtleneck dresses, macramé looks, hammered sculptural necklaces and python platforms. At Acne, there were long, languid layers, muted florals — and coats that looked like they were plucked from a vintage store. Models even wore their hair long and wavy, reminiscent of Janis Joplin. Ellery offered a more polished interpretation of the era, with the label’s signature bell bottoms and sculptural gold jewelry. If these shows are any indication of what’s to come, the fall/winter ’18 season is already off to a strong start. — M.J.G.

9. In the Beauty Department, It Was Fifty Shades of Pink

Haute couture week is always a feast for the eyes — and not just in terms of fashion. Beauty, too, is about fantasy, and an escape from the practicalities of everyday life. The spring/summer 2018 couture season proved to be a good one for makeup artists, as the trend of natural fresh faces was less prevalent than it has been during recent ready-to-wear seasons. Instead, many shows featured beautiful color on the face, especially in terms of blush. At Chanel, models’ cheeks were rosy pink, and at Armani, a pastel pink blush was applied on the apples of the cheeks and extended up to the temple. The look became more extreme at RDVK; it could only be described as ’80s, Kabuki-style rouge. — M.J.G.

10. Hedi Slimane’s Move to Celine Was the News of the Week

On a quiet Sunday in Paris, the fashion industry was alerted to the most unexpected news: that Hedi Slimane would be taking the reins at Céline, following the departure of Phoebe Philo. Since he left Saint Laurent in 2016, rumors have circulated about where he would end up. Many speculated that he would return to LVMH, but Celine was a total surprise. Slimane devotees were elated — especially with the announcement that Slimane will introduce men’s wear to Celine — while Philo loyalists worried that they may have to trade in their voluminous trousers for skinny jeans. Either way, the appointment is exciting — and we’re looking forward to seeing what Slimane dreams up come September. — M.J.G.