2010 Autumn Couture Fashion Week

Call it the Lady Gaga effect. The Paris couture catwalks have been a riot of sculptural hairpieces this week! Yesterday Jean Paul Gaultier's show had a series of dramatic bow shaped attachments, echoing the beautiful 1940s turban style hats in his collection. It follows John Galliano's couture show for Christian Dior which featured a bevy of bulbous hair pieces inspired by budding flowers. Lady Gaga has been championing hair pieces for some time now, running from the more conventional shapes to full-on 18th century bird's nests like her wig at February's Brit Awards. It looks like her influence is permeating high fashion. Personally, I love it. It's not a trend that will necessarily filter down to the mainstream but it's certainly fun! Are you a fan of hair pieces?

Valentino designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli presented their own take on Valentino this season. They have worked hard to live up to the famous Italian fashion house's name, and now they are bringing it in to the 21st century by targeting a new client base. There was a young feel to the Autumn couture with shorter hemlines and edgier cuts. Chiuri told WWD, "We want to catch a new customer," and by this she means moving away from the snootier, posh customer to the new generation.

The colour palette was relatively simple (mainly using monochrome and the signature red), but it was the shapes which changed, like with this baby doll dress or a barely there mini. The show was followed by a dinner hosted by former creative director Valentino Garavani. Seems like he can dine at ease knowing these two designers are at the helm!

To see more photos from the show, just read more

Hello Halston Glamour! It looks like we're in for a dose of long luscious blow-drys soon if the catwalks are anything to go by. Yesterday Giorgio Armani unleashed a slew of sultry blondes, with 1970's style fringe flicks at his Paris Armani Prive couture show. He follows Chloe designer Hannah Macgibbon who worked a similar vibe with free flowing tresses at her February runway outing. At the same round, Gucci continued its sexed up vibe with disco glamour blow-dry looks. The style is usually pared with nude lips and worn blonde, which works fabulously when paired with Camel clothing (perfect for all the Camel polo necks that are around this season.) Are you a fan?

Couture week continued yesterday in Paris with shows from Givenchy, Armani Prive and Chanel. Karl Lagerfeld regularly transforms the Grand Palais and this time he did so with an enormous gold lion resting on a giant pearl. Karl said he was inspired by a bronze lion he found in Coco Chanel's apartment. The collection remained true to Chanel with classic suits (slightly shorter this season), however the Autumn pret a porter collection was present in the fur cuffs and the gorgeous coats.

The lion theme was present throughout with statement belts and gold slouchy boots which were similar to the lion's mane. Tiers were a key part of the line with peplum dresses, and short bolero jacket worn over long dresses. Perhaps the key talking part will be the lions mask worn by the groom at the end. It's this fine line between genius and ridiculous that keeps Chanel interesting.

See more photos from the show after the jump.