12. MIU MIU

Who the "Miu Miu girl" might be next season is always the subject of much speculation; such is the roll-call of young actresses and continental It-girls who have occupied the position.

Though Miuccia Prada has been striving to make sure her "second label" is no longer seen as a diffusion line (by showing at Paris Fashion Week and introducing couture techniques and higher prices), Miu Miu's appeal remains in ramping up the brilliant awkwardness of the Prada line for a younger audience who have the courage to wear the more challenging items. No less than Lindsay Lohan, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kirsten Dunst, Lou Doillon and Chloë Sevigny have all put themselves forward for Mrs Prada's avant-garde makeover treatment.

What's different about this season's face is not only that, at 35, Vanessa Paradis can't really be described as a "girl", but also that the French singer usually shuns fame, enjoying an intensely private life with her partner, Johnny Depp. Not since 1991, when we saw her dressed in black feathers and balancing on a swing inside a bird cage as the face of the Chanel fragrance Coco, have we seen this starry, performative side of Vanessa.

And what a performance it is! Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott's art is in creating a timeless sense of glamour. But for the date stamped at the foot of the image, telling us the campaign was shot in Los Angeles between 18 and 20 May of this year, we could almost believe Paradis was one of 1930s colour photographer Madame Yevonde's magnificent Greek goddesses.

The saturated colours, the dynamic composition and the heroic pose (head thrown back with the railing seeming to pierce her ivory throat), all conspire to make even a felt dress with graphic, floral lace look highly covetable.

Verdict: Paradis regained