Streetstyle from Tuileries during the last Paris Fashion Week. Photography by Anniina Mäkelä.

For a great meal after the tour, I recommend the nearby Waldorf Astoria, Trianon Palace, and their La Veranda restaurant. It's a stylish, yet casual, restaurant by chef Gordon Ramsey. We had delicious risotto and fish on their lovely terrace. Someday I want to try out his 2-Michelin-starred establishment in the same building.

The make-up and hair was deliberately simple and fresh, allowing the focus to rest on the energetic, colorful display of striped and tartan garments from designer Akira Kurosawa. Backstage, a poster decorated with smiley faces encouraged "True Smiles!" as cheerful models (a rare sight at any fashion show) walked down the runway to a live mix of Scottish and Celtic tunes.

Eugene Souleiman's vision for the hair was a high ponytail, done up in a loop and haphazardly pulled in every each way to create a wispy, airy effect using Wella's Ocean Spritz hairspray. Voluminous and lively, it created a high-spirited bounce as each model strutted or almost flew, down the runway. "It shouldn't be neat - It's about finding the beauty in imperfection", Souleiman explained backstage.

Lucia Pieroni crafted a linear shafts of light on each of the girls cheekbones, innovating with the side of a business card to get just the right precision, with White and Pink Opal pigment powders from MAC. The line brought an added luminosity to the models otherwise ethereal faces.

photography by Charin Chong

Friday night we were in for quite a treat as one of our favourite DJs from Jaded and Cable in London, Raymundo Rodriguez was in town playing the Batofar. You might know the Batofar as a summer hangout on the Seine, but the rest of the year doesn't stop the boat from rocking to a progressive and eclectic music scene from minimal tech to electronica.

Rodriguez has created a cult following in London for his wicked house and techno sets at Jaded, and many of his fans came to Paris just to hear him spin. What made the night extra special for everyone out of town, was him teaming up with Parisian DJ and founder of La Petite Maison Electronique, Fantômette and minimal-tech DJ Jesse Nola (who has residency at Batofar). All of the DJs went low with a deep beat set against a mood of playfulness and energy that kept everyone on the dance floor and continued into an early morning escape. While the night was a fusion of London and Paris, once dawn hits, you are reminded where you are as everyone passes by the boulangerie after a Parisian night out. By Anna Barr

Resident Batofar DJ Jesse Nola and founder of Much More parties

DJ Fantômette

Batofar in Paris

One of our contributers and biggest Raymundo Rodriguez fan straight from London, Lesley

Crazy about this pink pixie cut

Loving the print on this top

Eclectic Society Editor Anna Barr

Staying true to his label's adopted French roots the designer delivered a collection that was classic with a few modern touches.  However unlike the designer’s usual collections of night time attire and cocktail dresses this collection focused just as much on day as it did night. The monochromatic looks of petrol blue, navy and black, and yellow were amongst the best for the day.  

Carrying on from Milan, iron feminism was evident with 1970s graphic lines, long and lean silhouettes, peplum defined waists and minimal accessories all showcasing a woman that was both strong and incredibly feminine. In true Saab fashion he delivered for night with floor skimming crepe satin and sequins. Slicked back blown out hair and minimalist makeup grounded the look in the same undone primness that makes French women and Elie Saab designs consistently alluring. As reliable as French style itself, the collection was beautiful, current and appropriate but not too surprising. Like the Prada show before him, we got the impression that the smoke gimmick was just adding a little frosting to a collection that did not stray too far from the designer’s usual aesthetic. By Porschia Thomas

Photography by Anniina Mäkelä

Nadja Bender

Magdalena Frackowiak

Stéphane Lancien from L'Oreal Paris found inspiration from a dandy hairstyle worn by the British aristocrat in the 1950s. The slicked-back, double twisted locks on each side are brought together in a low ponytail. He then added a shiny texture to give it that popular runway 'wet look' with Elnett hairspray and Elseve oils. A simple yet sophisticated look that paired perfectly with the natural, glowing foundation, glossy carmine lips and gold-tinted cheekbones from MAC Cosmetics.

Stephane Lancien working his magic

The finished product

Cora Emmanuel

Sasha Luss

Manon Leloup

photos by Charin Chong
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The collection itself was inspired by Arora's visit to the hallowed Burning Man festival in Nevada, as seen is his 'sky-meets-desert' landscape patterns and psychedelic geometrical prints. As the show progressed more colors were introduced; a rich serving of pinks and yellows that continued the nod to his Indian heritage, to lush kaleidoscopic greens. Towards the end of the show we saw black garments decorated with Saga fox fur, gold, and jeweled embellishments as well as stylishly modern, leather turbans also adorned in gold.

This collection also marks the brand's first foray into knitwear, with elegant, navy blue Lurex knit dresses and sweaters garnished with an abundance of flapper-style fringe chains. He didn't forget the accessories, showcasing a selection of nose rings and hand-embroidered totes, bags, belts and scarves while continuing his collaboration with jewelry makers, Amrapali. To sum it up, Manish Arora offered us a burst of color against the grey start of Paris fashion week, echoing the memories of his journey to Burning Man.

Inspired by the Guatemalan death ritual of releasing kites into the air to celebrate death, Vibskov revealed a collection that was dedicated to the neck.  While the designer himself was not entirely sure why he was so fascinated with the neck for this collection, he admits that the profound connection of bones and precariousness of life in general interests him.  For the artistically inclined the exhibit highlighted the delicate neck bones as a link between the intellectual and physical life.  However to the artistically challenged, like myself, the show was executed in true Vibskovian form, confusing but beautiful nonetheless.  I took in the exhibit much like I take in channel surfing on a Sunday afternoon, with no expectations but desperate hope that there was a point to me getting out of bed.

True to the title, the exhibit was a collection of different necks arousing all of the viewer’s senses with audio, visual and tactile stimulation.  The fabrics focused on the same colourful palette, chunky knitwear and bird shapes that Vibskov used at his A/W 13 The Stiff Neck Chamber fashion collection, but hit a couple of interesting notes with video art pieces.   In one video in particular a naked human body sways in a heat sensitive white light fixture.  I found this incredibly endearing and while the artist’s true motives were still not entirely clear, this piece definitely got the point across that with one snap of that neck the person would certainly be dead. By Porschia Thomas

Neck Plus Ultra by Henrik V ibskov is at Galleries Des Galleries until 4th May 2013

Go back stage with Electic Society to see the details behind the most exclusive Fashion Week in the world.

Just 27 years old, Chinese designer Yiqing Yin is taking the Haute Couture world by storm

Season of the witch with powdery grey chignons at Yiqing Yin

Fringed bridal gown at Yiqing Yin shows the complexity of the designer's work

Alexandre Vauthier restores summer glamour

Serkan Cura creates delicate texture for his The Birds of Eden collection

Capturing the moment backstage at Serkan Cura

Photography by Léa Chamboncel

We hope you will join us for gourmet pleasure and features ranging from DJ sets, live music, and exhibtions that all come together for a great weekend in a fun, casual and of course, eclectic atmosphere. See you there!

Eclectic Society with Fashion Brunch

Dates: 10th February, 14th April, 9th June 2013

Location: Café A 
148 Rue du Faubourg Saint Martin
75010 PARIS (Metro Gare de l'est)

Time: 11:30 to 20:30

Brunch Buffet: 25 euros

Access to Pop-up Shop: 2 euros