Paris gets set for fashion month finale

Last, but by no means least, Paris limbers up to take the fashion baton from Milan. Starting next Tuesday until March 11, the French capital will round-off four intense weeks of womenswear previews with 92 runway shows.

This season's choice of venues is sure to go down a treat with fashion-loving art enthusiasts and culture vultures. The Grand Palais (predominantly Chanel territory since 2006, it is the only venue big enough to host Karl Lagerfeld's epic set design), the Arab World Institute, the Pompidou Centre and the Palais de Tokyo contemporary art museum will provide awe-inspiring backdrops for shows by Isabel Marant (Palais de Tokyo, March 6), Vionnet and Yohji Yamamoto (Pompidou Centre, March 4 and 6).

Program highlights

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On March 6, former Creative Director at Dior John Galliano will show the world he has turned a new leaf as he returns to Paris Fashion Week as head designer at Maison Margiela after the label picked a London showing in January instead of Paris Haute Couture Week. US Vogue Editor Anna Wintour wore one of his custom-made gowns for the avant-garde label to the Oscars, a gesture that bodes well for his critical runway date with destiny.

Other debut collections not to be missed include Nadège Vanhée Cybulski for Hermès, Guillaume Henry for Nina Ricci and Adam Andrascik for Guy Laroche.

With two absentees this season  -- King of Pop fashion Jean-Charles de Castelajac and enfant terrible Jean Paul Gaultier (who left the ready-to-wear calendar last year to focus solely on Haute Couture) -- who will drag Paris out of its high-brow style comfort zone?

Manish Arora (March 5) and Olympia Le Tan (March 7), both renowned for tongue-in-cheek designs could be contenders.

The best front row of fashion month is still to come. Balmain (March 5), Mugler (March 9), Givenchy (March 8) and Louis Vuitton (March 11) are notorious for impressive guest lists. But are they prepared to make their front row child-friendly enough for celeb tots to gatecrash?

Spectacular runway performances are guaranteed at the hottest tickets -- Christian Dior (March 6) and Chanel (March 10). The runways of these Parisian powerhouses led by Raf Simons and Karl Lagerfeld are a one-stop shop for spotting the chicest celebrities and models of the moment like Cara Delevingne and Kendall Jenner.

Ones to watch

Fashion's elite will be tracking the return of Paco Rabanne and Lutz Huelle, and keeping an eye on four newcomers to the official Paris Fashion Week calendar: collaborative unisex fashion label Each x Other, Denmark's Anne Sofie Madsen, Esteban Cortazar and Parisian designer Vanessa Seward, backed by French retailer A.P.C.