Fashion: The robots are coming!

The robot: a cringe-inducing dance move normally adopted by spiky-haired men in sportswear. But Karl Lagerfeld himself did the robot this season – or at least, he did doll-faced dystopiennes who looked like they'd just stepped out of a souped-up DeLorean (flux capacitor as standard).

"But everyone knows that daft car was no more hi-tech or futuristic than a microwaveable egg poacher!" I hear you cry. That's the point. Designers are beyond predicting what's next – now they're looking back in order to get ahead.

The hyphenated buzzword this season is "retro-futurism", think "Rachael from Blade Runner . The British design duo Preen quoted the film as one of the main sources for their collection this season, where chic mini-dresses were slashed and reconfigured. It's the 1940s, as seen through the lens of modern-day, but interpreted with the future in mind. At Balmain, dresses came in intergalactic cobalt-blue sequins, with accentuated shoulders worthy of a glamorous space cadet. Kate Moss has been spotted in a silver version at parties recently.

Back at Lagerfeld, there were strong shoulders too and models wore fur, silk and crystal-embellished oversized crash helmets and ear muffs worthy of Amelia Earhart – had she ever piloted a space shuttle. Silhouettes are tightly nipped in and skirt suits are back, as are sleekly cut cigarette pants and tuxedo jackets. It also looks a bit George Sand – who, as we all know, was before her time but, like, still in the olden days. Back to the future indeed.