Elsewhere in Paris: Karl Lagerfeld and Vaillant

If you like a brand that respects its DNA even while playfully reinventing it, then you have to admire Karl Lagerfeld, who unveiled a stylish new clothing range on Tuesday.

“I call it 'Midnight in Paris', my idea of ​​a film shot here with a lot of black and white,” explained Hun Kim, the Korean-born creative director of the house. His latest collection captured multiple key Lagerfeld symbols, from dramatic white shorts to expressionist tailoring.

Additionally, Kim's many plays with monograms and logos had the wit and subtlety that Karl would surely have enjoyed.

Herr Lagerfeld never liked looking back, and neither did Kim showing great bomber jackets with a new sheepskin made of wool; cardigans with art deco graphics; elegant four-button peacoats and coat dresses in vegan leather.

Their best idea was a cool version of quilted leather, where the inner elastic made the leather bubble slightly erratically. Dressed in bomber jackets and a new crescent-shaped bag, everyone looked great.

Also impressing at a presentation inside the brand's French headquarters on rue St Guillaume was a new logo cut out of Karl's favorite accessory, his fan; KL link monogrammed technical gabardine suits; or shirts printed with Karl's signatures.

If we add to this the latest stylish denim ideas with Karl Lagerfeld jeans, this seemed to be a very good moment for the house and the brand. So much so that they have just doubled the size of their global headquarters in Amsterdam, adding another excellent residence on the historic Herengracht canal.

Vaillant: Anti-Emily in Paris

It's good to see the decline of boardrooms and business meetings in fashion, and a little more concern for the boudoir, a key reason why this latest Vaillant collection felt so right.

Presented at Georges, the glass-walled restaurant on the top floor of the Center Pompidou, the show seemed like a celebration of life. And Paris: Guests enjoyed a magnificent view of medieval Paris and the newly installed Notre Dame tower.

The models, strutting in front of grand urban vistas, are an optimistic setting for an optimistic and very short-lived collection. Led by damsels in faux-feather miniskirts and wide-open hoodies; tuxedo dresses from which shards of metallic silk sprang; ruched fire engine red shirt dresses and some gorgeous turquoise sequin Go Go Girl cocktails.

Although they were led by an international cast, they all seemed to have lived in Paris for years. Which is generally a very good thing in fashion. And, indeed, in life. Think of them as the Anti-Emily of Paris, girls with style Americans could only dream of.

This was Alice Vaillant's second exhibition at Georges, the crown of the Center Pompidou, one of the emblematic buildings of our era. And a perfect place for her fun, modernist clothes.

Backed by Daft Punk tribute 'Giorgio by Moroder', and worn by a cast who would clearly love to take these clothes home, this confirmed Vaillant as a brand and designer to watch.