Mario Testino & Carine Roitfeld standing at Balenciaga. From WWD's Twitter feed.

About half of this morning’s Balenciaga-centric Tweets were dedicated to the “mind bending beauty” of Nicolas Ghesquière’s spring collection, but the other half were more concerned with the breaking benches. It sounds like one bench after the other started collapsing under the weight of the attendees (which, to be honest, isn’t much). After about three benches broke, workers started bringing in replacements, but even that wasn’t enough. The crowd was asked to stand to watch the show—a crowd including Catherine Deneuve and Salma Hayek. Our own Anne Slowey said, “If anyone deserves a preemptive ovation it is Ghesquière!” while Style.com’s Meenal Mistry quoted an unnamed editor, “Tom Ford could have used some faulty benches to get his standing ovation…” And Paris starts off with a bang!

The shows have just kicked off in Paris—we’re in the final homestretch of fashion month! So without further ago and in no particular order, here’s a look back at ten of our favorite looks from Milan. Which looks were your favorites?

Photo: Imaxtree If we take haute couture and Hermes out of the equation, the Row’s crocodile backpack is probably the most expensive high fashion thing on the market right now.  But Proenza Schouler’s SS12 collection is giving the Olsens a run for their money. Moda Operandi just launched their Proenza trunk show and if your closets in need of a palm print you’re in luck.  On one end of the spectrum, we have the printed neoprene sheath for $3,950.  On the other is the beaded finale dress at left.  It’ll set you back $22,500.  That’s about half a year of Harvard tuition or $500 less than the starting price of a Prius. Can’t quite bring yourself to spend that on a cocktail dress?  Mere mortals can invest in spring Proenza for just $1,850 by pre-ordering a palm print PS1 on the brand’s site.  If, however, the dress sounds like a bargain, have you heard about the new Dior suite?

Photo: Clement Dauvent

This morning, we swung by Manish Arora’s studio as he was putting the finishing touches on his eponymous collection, which will show in Paris tomorrow, as well as his collection for Paco Rabanne later in the week. “I feel I’m beginning to think of slightly more wearable clothes, for women to actually wear,” said the remarkably calm designer who’s known for over-the-top looks full of bright colors and extreme embellishment. “Tomorrow, you’ll see plenty of flesh tones and for the first time, black and white! It could be result of spending so much time in Europe?” Arora says the new simplicity (relatively speaking) will also be reflected in 60s inspired A-line dresses, recurring photographic prints (“something I’ve rarely done”), and straight cut jeans. There will, of course, be sequins, both tiny and over-sized in a fish-scale like texture at the center of the collection. The wackiest feature (we’re betting) will be the stilettos morphing into skinny jeans, “something I’m experimenting with, I’m thinking of a full shoe-outfit for next season.” As for the craftsmanship, which is key to Manish’s work, everything is still made in India where he can merge ancient techniques with modern fabrics. “It’s important to preserve traditional skills. Plus, you get standards that simply don’t exist in Europe any more,” he said, pointing to a finely embroidered holographic dress and a top composed entirely of little tubes that gives off a 3D armor-like effect. This respect of craft is one of the things Manish is importing to Paco Rabanne. Although most of the clothes will be produced in France, select few pieces will be hand-made in India, a novelty for the company. “Some of the dresses will require 25 people, which you can only do back at home,” the designer explained. “What Paco Rabanne and I have in common is lavish, over the top elegance, and a love of craftsmanship. But today, I’m trying to update that woman: she’s a woman in motion.”

Photo: The Rachel Zoe Report The craziest part about this photo of all the luggage that Rachel Zoe packed for the European shows isn’t that she carted the load from the United States to London and now to Paris, or that her husband Rodger is roughly the size of one Louis Vuitton duffle, or that it looks like they had to acquire a French version of a tractor to haul it across a parking lot, or that all of the people visible in the background are mesmerized by the stack, but that with all that luggage, the Berman family chose to take the train.

From left to right, Kelly Wearstler, Ter et Bantine, Derek Lam & Preen. Photos: Imaxtree

When Miu Miu sent harlequins down the runway for spring ’08, we expected court jester fever (trend-wise), but it’s only starting to catch on now. While this season’s interpretation is far more pared-down than its petticoat-laden predecessor, the look is just as whimsical: patched leather skirts, trapeze dresses, and ruffle collared crop-tops guarantee that this confetti-colored trend doesn’t take itself too seriously. Derek Lam and Kelly Wearstler both presented sportswear collections with tinges of harlequin enthusiasm, each offering a patchwork leather skirt offset with classic knitwear and shirting pieces. Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi’s version for Preen included some digital geometry, forgoing the classic jester diamond pattern for kaleidoscopic boxes, though they remained true to the trend’s roots with a flouncy collar. Ironically, Ter et Bantine’s version was sort of minimalistic, thanks to their use of a simple trapeze dress silhouette.

Photo: Getty Images

It’s hard to say which got more press the day after the royal wedding—Kate Middleton’s Alexander McQueen gown or Pippa Middleton’s bum. Both received rave reviews, earned front page treatment from newspapers, and are still written about almost daily. Kate’s dress might have spawned legions of knock-off lace gowns, but Pippa’s backside launched a Facebook fan club with almost 300,000 followers. Pippa may not be a royal, but she earns as much attention as her sister, the Duchess of Cambridge, and though she’s not even engaged to her boyfriend of a few months designers are already staking claim to her wedding dress. Alice Temperley, who designed the dress Pippa wore to Kate and Will’s reception, sat Middleton front row at her show last week and just told the Telegraph that she too has a thing for Pippa’s bottom. “I’d love to dress Pippa for her wedding when it happens,” Temperley said. “She’s so beautiful—she’s perfect and her bum is perfect—it would be such an honour.”

Photo: Mugler

Last season Lady Gaga walked the Mugler runway in Paris for Nicola Formichetti’s debut collection. This season, she’ll star in a short film set to play during the show. The film, like the last few music videos Gaga’s released, has been shot by Inez and Vinoodh and will be screened behind the models at 9:30PM (Paris time) on Wednesday, September 28th. It will, of course, also feature a new remix from the Lady. There’s no word yet on whether or not she’ll also walk, or perform, but the after party invite does mention “Special Guests.” Until then, Formichetti will be Tweeting and Tumblring from his Paris atelier and posting sneak peeks of the video here.