Kenzo's cheerful invitation pack, complete with a yellow-tipped paint stirrer, set Paris Fashion Week off to a colourful start
Kenzo
Maison Martin Margiela sent out an unassuming keychain, but this was no ordinary key holder...
... A press of a button later, the mini torch projected the show details
Maison Martin Margiela
Akris turned humble sugar paper into a sculptural invitation and press pack. The invitation mimicked the giant walls that models emerged from to reach the catwalk at the show
Akris
Comme des Garcons introduced a twist to its trademark black and white, font-centric offering with a centralised typeface, which - upon closer inspection - was deliberately blurred
A mini plastic print depicting a futuristic crystal cave was glued onto Chanel's textured card
Chanel's after-party invitation...
... with a panelled overlay, which teasingly revealed its contents
Chanel
Balmain's subtle gold colour-edged invitation
An intriguing multi-layered paper invitation from Roger Vivier...
... opened up to reveal a graphic series of intricate die-cut Parisian landmarks
Nestled among Roger Vivier's iconic Parisian landmarks, such as the Luxor Obelisk, Louvre and Arc de Triomphe, was the Roger Vivier shoe
Vivienne Westwood indulged in the art of counterfeiting, using a £50 bill as a basis for her invitation, which was then graffitied on the back with the word 'London'
A tribal tattoo-like spot gloss print gave texture to the Burakuyan card
An elegant gold, foil-blocked pattern lit up an otherwise classic invitation from Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Complementing the screen-printed effect, Céline designed its trend book for the A/W 2012 collection to be a giant-sized fold-out poster
Céline
With a thick matt white embossed surface on one side and a glossy black layer on the other, Dries Van Noten's invitation was a play on contrasts
The charming tissue-paper-lined envelope from Yves Saint Laurent, enclosed with a thick textured card invitation. Points for picture-perfect handwriting
The details for the launch event of Marc Newson's new K-01 camera for Pentax aptly arrived in an envelope resembling traditional camera film packaging
The camera itself, pictured on the enclosed A5 invitation
Slightly smaller than the standard A4 dimensions, Junya Watanabe's custom-sized offering came speckled with a purple sans serif typeface
Loewe sent out a rubberised card that was subtly detailed with a black embossed gloss pattern - a look that cropped up on a number of invitations this season
Loewe's matching black paper-lined envelope
A nude gold-edged variation on Miu Miu's perfect show stationary. Invitation details were printed on textured paper with gold borders and attached to a weighty lacquered Plexiglas sheet
Matching the logo, a peach pink shade lined the edges of Chloé's invitation
A useful leather luggage tag from Louis Vuitton
The minimalist aesthetic of Haider Ackermann's textured rectangular card was broken up with fluid calligraphy-style printing
The pack from Hermès - a white folder embossed with a discreet logo on the front - enclosed a cloth-lined, floral invitation card...
... and a thoughtfully stamped RSVP card
A silver foil envelope from Stella McCartney contained a thick grey card, edged with pink neon and a tube of 'Stella' sparklers
Roland Mouret's textured, pearlised paper offering came tied with a velvet bow
Roland Mouret
Shoe designer Cesare Paciotti's sketch of a pointy stiletto featured on his glossy, two-toned invitation card
Cesare Paciotti
The Givenchy invitation pack came enclosed with a limited-edition print...
... elegantly numbered on the jacket of the folder
Givenchy
A pleasant clash of pink and red tones from Giambattista Valli
An oversized card from Viktor & Rolf
Viktor & Rolf
A velvet floral pattern and foil-blocked type embellished Gucci's thick dark indigo card for Milan Fashion Week
SW1's launch collection invitation featured a powdery yellow and white colour scheme, with the envelope and card subtly debossed with the new brand's logo
Eschewing an actual invitation card, Prada sent out envelopes lined with purple canvas, which had been printed with the all the necessary show details
Fendi's scaley, textured offering opened up to reveal...
... a graphic, pamphlet-style stitched binding
For the Valentino show, a white wax paper layer was printed with transparent type. When pressed against an accompanying piece of grey wax paper, it revealed the show details
Versace sent out a matte black card, subtly printed with a glossy Versace logo...
The mirrored finish on the other side of Versace's invitation
Mary Katrantzou used a clever lenticular printing process to created a hologram effect for the pencils on her London Fashion Week card
Margaret Howell chose a moss green and navy blue colour scheme this season and a pop-out, black foil-stamped print
Margaret Howell
Meadham Kirchhoff's weighty pack featured punk-esque comic book-style illustrations
Meadham Kirchhoff
Deep purple on one side and lilac on the other, Roksanda Ilincic's invitation was joined together with five layers of thick, cyan-coloured card
Roksanda Ilincic
More brands are embracing the digital age, and Louise Gray is no exception. This invitation paid homage to the QR barcode, which was also a central theme in the designer's A/W 2012 collection
Louise Gray
Acne's thick beige card featured a graphic, debossed fluorescent font on one side...
... and a pearlised acquamarine finish on the other
Peter Pilotto presented a bright red digital floral print, which was later seen in the detailing on some of the pieces of the A/W 2012 collection
In New York, Alexander Wang kept things simple, merely embellishing the invitation with a glossy typographic finish
Alexander Wang
Rodarte's play on embossing and debossing techniques
Rodarte
A fuss-free textured card from Victoria Beckham
Tommy Hilfiger sent out thick burgundy leather cards, stitched with gold thread
Tommy Hilfiger
Reed Krakoff’s launch invitation for the installation of felt-covered chairs he exhibited at Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn’s gallery was aptly lined with a grey felt cover
Reed Krakoff
White and grey typography set against a black background on the Marc by Marc Jacobs invitation
Theysken’s Theory sent out narrow, sealed envelopes, which had to be torn open
Theysken’s Theory
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Jaguar reveals its new graphic identity ahead of a long-awaited total brand rebootJaguar’s new ethos is Exuberant Modernism, encapsulated by a new visual language that draws on fine art, fashion and architecture
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Olfactory Art Keller: the New York gallery exhibiting the smell of vintage perfume, blossoming lilacs and last night’s shameOlfactory Art Keller is a Manhattan-based gallery space dedicated to exhibiting scent as art. Founder Dr Andreas Keller speaks with Lara Johnson-Wheeler about the project, which doesn’t shy away from the ‘unpleasant’
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Explore a barn conversion with a difference on the Isle of WightGianni Botsford Architects' barn conversion transforms two old farm buildings into an atmospheric residence and artistic retreat, The Old Byre
