THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME: IT'S BOURGEOIS...

Forget about grunge, if the Fall 2012 couture shows are anything to go by fashion is about to get fancy pants.

It doesn't matter that it's couture. Fashion is interesting because it works in mysterious ways. Inspiration is becoming ever more fluid. This means that something that shows on the catwalk today can be interpreted quickly by mega-powerful-all-reaching high street shops.

That's good for you and me because it's affordable...

Anyway, this isn't a philosophy class - let's talk about the clothes.

They are so pretty, right? We start with Armani Privé in the middle with its double model Frenchi looks. There's something distinctively 1920s-esque about this... for some reason it has me thinking of Great Gatsby and long cigarettes. You'd wear this sort of outfit to a weekend away at your summer-house, surely. On the left we've got Balmain with its power shoulders and easily recognizable signet belt. It's equally powerful but in a more 1980s sort of way. This woman is smart enough to have a high-powered job but God forbid she ever gets her fingers dirty. She's wearing a pale pink suit after all... there's no room for a messy McDonalds, this girl only eats oysters. Then, on the far right we have the beautiful Christian Dior. This woman is straight out of the 1950s only she accidentally ran into Madonna circa 1990. A cone bra plus a teeny tiny waist makes for an interesting and new silhouette. Raf Simons nailed it.

I love couture because, while it's highly aspirational and entirely out of reach, it also offers a clear vision of the direction fashion is moving. I'm jumping happily onto board this bourgeois boat. It's one part nonchalant and another part painfully perfect. I like that.

Images from style.com

* Update * As Michael correctly pointed out, the Balmain collection is not couture, it's Resort 2013. Sorry for the mistake. Live and learn suckas. Live. and. learn. Thanks for letting me know. Love you Duck.