the main trends that have swept Paris catwalks

If you could only see one show on Paris' packed nine-day fall-winter 2011-12 ready-to-wear calendar, it would have to be Yves Saint Laurent.

Not because it was the most amazing -- though the collection was a strong one -- but because it synthesized in several dozen looks the main trends that have swept Paris catwalks.

Everything was there: the proper wool princess coats with oversized fur sleeves that were practically inescapable this season -- except at animal lover Stella McCartney's fur- and leather-free label; the ultra-wide length trousers, high-waisted A-line skirts and pantsuits that all channeled an easy '70s elegance, similar to what Chloe fielded; and there was the cape, the must-have outerwear piece for next winter.

CHLOE

Hannah MacGibbon has hit her stride. After several shaky seasons, the Chloe designer found her footing with a self-assured fall collection that looked to have put the doubts of the past to bed.

MacGibbon's romantic, casual, sexy, bohemian, boyish and '70s-tinged style has never looked better.

Though she's stuck to a largely neutral palette in the past, sending out collections bathed in ecru, camel and mousy gray, this season she dared do bold colors, drenching the sweater dresses, wide-legged leather trousers and high-waisted skirts in eye-popping shades. A single piece -- the oversized patchwork poncho -- was a walking rainbow.

CHANEL

Chanel has the deepest pockets in the business, and its mega-production runway shows are always jaw-dropping spectacles -- even when the clothes they showcase leave the audience feeling a tad perplexed.

That was the case at the fall-winter 2011-12 ready-to-wear collection, a parade of post-punk pantsuits and wide-cut jackets in charcoal tweed by designer Karl Lagerfeld that at first glance looked like a harder sell than the pretty pastel skirts and snug tweed jackets that women worldwide lust over.

The show didn't generate the same level of enthusiastic applause that Chanel shows usually do, but experts agreed that wouldn't matter much.

After the show, the crowd of thousands refused to disperse, milling around in the hopes of catching a glimpse of Lagerfeld, or even exchanging a word with him.