PARIS–There was a bit of Jackie O. in Giambattista Valli‘s Fall 2011 collection, presented today at the Couvent de Cordeliers–if only Jackie O. would dare to wear streaks of neon yellow across the bottom of her thick shift dresses, exaggerated peter pan collars, and skirts in shaggy fur. Maybe it was a collection better suited for her younger sister, Lee Radziwill, who attended the show.

The first looks out were minimalist and mod–cropped shantung tanks over high waisted skinny pants, shifts in tweed or sheared fur with thick bands of neon yellow, cream, black and gray at the hem. A swirling black floral motif worked its way onto cream colored shifts. That Dalmatian trend we saw in London and New York showed up on Valli’s runway too, as bits of black tulle and sequins were sewn in patches over white cocktail dresses. Though black and white prevailed, there were shots of color–my favorite was a red knit sweater paired with a pink peplum skirt.

And while the whole collection oozed cocktail party glamor, the evening dresses that closed the show were the stars. Full skirts, puffed out at the hips, with capelet-shaped tops recalled couture shapes (as well as Jil Sander’s spring 2011 collection). But the finale dresses brought down the house (er, convent?): simple tank tops on full tulle ballgown skirts with trains so wide and long they brushed the well-shod toes of the first row.

**All images by Imaxtree.