We’re on the brink of another round of international fashion weeks, but let’s take a step back to 1983. It was the year Karl Lagerfeld showed his first Chanel collection - the Chanel Haute Couture collection for spring summer 1983.

The classic Lagerfeld bling and accessories are evident even in his first collection 25 years ago, where the models walked like women and not horses, and when Karl himself was a brunette.

Valentino Garavani bid arrivederci to the fashion with his final runway collection showing his spring 2008 Haute Couture show in Paris at the Musee Rodin yesterday.There were 800 - 900 guests in attendance, but the focus was always going to be on the catwalk we were treated to Valentino’s signature romantic designs. Florals were the main focus in chiffon tea dresses and perfectly tailored suits, and then there were the chic wool coats, cocktail dresses and grand evening gowns.

Everything was dignified and immaculate and treated with pleats, tiers and ruching or lavished in lace or embroidery.

The finale was a sign to be seen, with all 30 models walking out on the catwalk in identical Valentino red gowns, as Valentio appeared to do his lap of honour, blowing kisses into the crowd as many blinked back tears while giving the Italian designer a standing ovation.

“I am not sad. This is my Valentino souvenir to everyone. I have had a wonderful life in fashion, rich in so many memories,” he said.

Was the focus on the Chanel Haute Couture spring 2008 show at the Grand Palais yesterday the models, the clothes or the 75 foot replica of a Chanel coat?

No doubt it was the 75 foot coat.

Made from wood and painted to look like concrete, the Chanel coat featured the iconic Chanel braid trim and it was where the models got change and paraded out of through a open flap in the jacket. According to Cathy Horyn’s blog for the New York Time, the coat also revolved around slowly during the show, with the Chanel double C emblem was engraved on to all the buttons on what looked like a giant Chanel wedding cake.

What will Karl Lagerfeld think of next. Catch a video of the show created by the Telegraph below…

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Cate Blanchett has a budding relationship with Giorgio Armani, most recently asking the the designer to donate money to her pet project, the Sydney Theatre Company. These past few days, she and Alicia Keys have been photographed wearing the dazzling fall 2008 Armani Prive haute couture pieces on the red carpet.

Cate Blanchett’s green and black Prive gown with a plunging sweetheart neckline was modeled on the runway by Dianna Gartner, but Cate showed that the dress looks amazing on her statuesque figure (minus the diamonte studded hat) at the Elizabeth: The Golden Age premiere at the Rome Film Festival. Meanwhile Alicia Keys wore the Prive dress first worn by Yevgeniya Kedrova on the runway at Thursday nights Swarovski Fashion Rocks event at London.

Who looked better in Armani Prive, Cate or Alicia?

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I have been obsessed with Chanel Haute Couture shows after watching (and re-watching) Signe Chanel, the documentary that takes you from start to finish of the production of an haute couture show. Well a clip on YouTube recently caught my eye – a behind the scene’s clip taking us behind the scenes of the recent fall winter 2007/08 Chanel haute couture collection.

Watch it below and let me know what you think!

After working in the fashion industry for 45 years, it may have seemed a little unfitting to have a celebration last only a night. So Mr Valentino Garavani celebrated his 45 years in fashion over 3 days, from July 6 - 9 in his home country of Italy. It is probably fitting as this is a man who made a colour all his own, red. It is officially called Rosso Valentino (a combination of 0% Cyan, 100% Magenta, 100% Yellow, 10% Black) and is always used in the design of his timeless gowns.

The three days of festivities kicked off at the 2,000 year old Ara Pacis (Arch of Peace) museum which is exhibiting up to 300 of Valentino’s favourite pieces from the last 45 years. It was then followed by a dinner in the Temple of Venus in front of the Colosseum. The next day, Valentino broke a 17 year tradition and showed his Fall 2007/08 Haute Couture collection in Rome in the 1,400-year-old complex of the Santo Spirito. It was followed by a grand ball that night in the Parco dei Daini of the Villa Borghese.

The weekend is due to have rounded off with Valentino will launch the house’s latest perfume, Rock ‘n Rose Couture, which I presume to be a twist on Valentino’s Rock ‘n Rose fragrance.

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What more do you expect of Giorgio Armani? He’s doing red carpet worthy gowns with such ease that I wasn’t disappointed with his latest haute couture offering for the elite who can afford to buy his gowns or those with a profiles high enough to loan them.

He started off his fall haute couture collection from pretty tailored pieces consisting of waisted jackets, tuxedo suits and pretty dresses all belted down tight at the waist to create an hour glass figure out of the fashion model bodies. The colours were a world away from the muted colours usually reserved by Armani, this time citing David Bowie as an inspiration. Shocking pinks, tangerines and feather boa’s in a rainbow of colour was a refreshing change.

My favourite pieces were the breathe taking sparkly cocktail and red carpet gowns with plunging sweetheart necklines. If diamonds are a girl’s best friend, then these dresses would be your friends for life. Who would have thought that Mr Armani is about to celebrate his 73rd birthday.

I loved the Givenchy Haute Couture show, but more about that later. Check out this news round up of the Jean Paul Gaultier, Franck Sorbier, and Ellie Saab shows.

The Gaultier show was all about turning the models into princes, givng them strength in their outfits to have the power over their destinies. With the inspiration being influenced by the men of the European and India kingdoms long lost to the world today, the show in very opulent and very intriguing. And as for the Ellie Saab collection? Well he is one of the kings of gorgeous red carpet worthy gowns. This time his references was cinema from the 1940s to the present day.

What do you think of couture so far this season?

Torrential rain threatened to end the Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2007 /08 show before it even started. But as they say in show business, the show much go on. And on it did.

Karl Lagerfeld’s latest Haute Couture collection for Chanel blended sharp silhouettes with luxury materials, delicate embroidery, beading and layers of ruffles. Oh and did I mention the capes? Capes were made out of the fluffiest feathers and often attached to the gowns, making the model look like she could take off any second. Floor length gowns had their hems ruined as they were walked through the puddles, but the focus was never on them.

Check out the beauty of the Chanel Haute Couture for yourself - I can talk until I’m blue in the face, but beauty is really in the eye of the beholder. Keep and eye out for the pants / leg warmers that was so long that it would cover most of the shoe, and the bejeweled hoods.

Watch a round up of the Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier and Chanel Fall Haute Couture shows here: part 1 and part 2.