Fall 2012 Paris

Style

The Best Handbags of Fall 2012

While shoes got a bit tamer for Fall 2012, handbags have only gotten more wild. Fur and faux furs bags were all the rage at Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler, Dries van Noten, and Michael Kors, and while the perspex bags at 3.1 Phillip Lim and the cute minauderies from Diane von Furstenberg may not be totally useful, they sure are cute. Or course if you need a bag that will actually fit your things inside it, the giant leather carryalls at Alexander Wang might just do the trick.

Style

The Best Shoes of the Fall 2012 Season

We've scoured the Fall 2012 collections for the most amazing shoes, and it was easy, because there were plenty. The best part? Footwear options for Fall 2012 are a lot more reasonable than their Spring 2012 counterparts. (Remember those 6 inch Versace lucite wedges?) Fall 2012 saw lots of wide heels and mary-janes on the runway, and sometimes both simultaneously--like at Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Marni. Knee-high black boots ruled at Alexander Wang, Altuzarra, Givenchy, and Rick Owens, and ladylike pumps could be found at Lanvin, Nina Ricci, and Jil Sander. Of course, if you're looking for something crazy, look no further than Alexander McQueen's heel-less fur shoes. Impractical, but so lovely. Take a look at all the amazing shoes from Fall 2012 and just try to pick a favorite. It's near impossible.

Style

Folk Art Prints Get the Valentino Touch

PARIS--After weeks of being presented with more challenging, boxy, and sometimes oversized silhouettes, it was so nice and even refreshing to take in Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli ultra-feminine, just plain pretty fall collection. Sumptuous soft black leather toughened up the pretty a bit--on a cape, a skirt, and a gorgeous leather jump suit to open the show.

Style

Should Kanye West Just Focus on Accessories?

Long Nguyen is the co-founder and style director of Flaunt. PARIS--Fashion can be a cruel business, when one minute you’re hot and the next you’re forgotten, never to be heard from again. But fashion is also a place where redemption can occur; one good show can wipe out the previous seasons’ debacles…just like that. Kanye West’s debut collection was simply bad, even for those of us who actually rooted for him to succeed. Because the negative criticism of his spring collection was fairly unanimous, it cannot be dismissed as media bias. “Has he learned a hard lesson and can he redeem himself?” was the question on our minds as the car breached the secure steel gate to enter the back docks of the vast Halle Freyssinet complex on a frigid Tuesday night.

Business

Three-Year Old Chanel Model Hudson Kroenig Gave Karl Lagerfeld Toys For His Kitten

Karl Lagerfeld is known for keeping a stable of "it" girls and boys around and the latest is the three-year-old son of model Brad Kroenig, Hudson. So far, Hudson has walked in two Chanel shows, including yesterday's, in which he walked the runway holding Heidi Mount's hand and wearing a purse. Eric Wilson has caught on to Kroenig's rising star and thus he is probably the youngest model to get a Times profile. The article, headlined "A Minimum Age? Not for This Model" is not long, because he's three, but it's real cute.

Style

Edward Enninful and Alicia Keys Hold Hands At Givenchy, Spark Rumors of Love Affair (LOL)

Alicia Keys has been popping up all over Paris Fashion Week. As Derek Blasberg tweeted, "Jeez, Alicia Keys has gone to as many shows as I have this season." Keys made an appearance at Givenchy, where she caught up with W editor Edward Enninful. Photogs snapped the two in a handhold, which apparently means the two are having a steamy affair. At least, that's what Media Takeout would like you to think, as they posted those photos under the headline "UMMMMM . . . This Could Be NOTHING . . . But . . Why Is R&B Singer ALICIA KEYS Holding Hands With THIS DUDE?????"

Style

Clare Waight Keller's Chloé Girl is a Brit in Paris (Who Wears Awesome Coats)

PARIS--It's former Pringle of Scotland designer Clare Waight Keller's second season as the creative director for Chloé and she told me designing her second collection for the house was "nerve-wracking the second time around because you know what's coming...[but] intense and really enjoyable to work on." Could part of that "nerve-wracking" have to do with working in a city where industry rumors, rumors about designers being replaced at big fashion houses, are a dime a dozen? "The gossip is on a whole different level here," Waight Keller said. "It feels different--you know people at different houses but you're in your own world as well." Good thing. Because Waight Keller's vision for Chloé is beginning to take shape--and it's all about her own world.

Style

A Film Crew Trailed Carine Roitfeld, Plus a 53-Year-Old Closed the Show at Hermès

Hermes is the ultimate in luxury. So it follows that yesterday's fall show was a luxurious experience in spite of the rain and dropping temps. The setting was the courtyard of the beautiful École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts. Heat was pumped into the tented space and waiters stood at attention with flutes of champagne and glasses of fresh grapefruit and raspberry juice. Attendees were posh fangirls in their silk Hermes scarves. This is the 1% (.05%?). In addition to loaded VIPs and editors, a few notable names were there, both on and off the runway. Carine Roitfeld was there, making only her second Paris fashion week appearance (she was at Dior and showed up later last night at Givenchy), trailed by a film crew. Curious? Us, too.