I love Balmain for its strong, angular shoulders and geometric lines and patterns. The fashion house has mastered a fiercely stylish look - one that's androgynous but sexy. This season, we saw gold embellishments on a basic black, white and light blue denim palette, along with bolero-type jackets in a cohesive Western-style theme.


































Lanvin is just so quintessentially French with its feminine, avant-garde form dresses. This season, the designer surprised us with a diverse collection that included of-the-moment fringe gowns, silk draped dresses, and minimalist structured skirt suits.































Isabel Marant was probably the most commercially wearable of the French design houses this season - taking a cue from American style heritage and even including football-inspired shirts:



Christian Dior was - unsurprisingly - perfectly feminine:


Elie Saab celebrates the female form in the most beautiful and feminine way. His S/S 2012 collection was no different - this season, Saab celebrated bright colors combined with the sparkly embellishments he does best:
































And finally, Alexander McQueen - my favorite. I survey McQueen's collection each season the way I savor chocolate - slowly and relishing each moment. Each collection is wild, imaginative, profoundly artistic and provocative. This season was no different, with the following being my favorite three looks for the way they achieve feminine beauty while still being fierce, in classic McQueen style: