The Looks to Save for Spring

GIVEN the contempt that has been directed toward President Nicolas Sarkozy by his countrymen for appearing to be excessively pro-American, and the weakness of the dollar against the euro, it is strange that no one here made much fuss about Parisian designers who practically saluted Old Glory with their stars-and-stripes collections shown last week.

Stars were the motif on navy dresses worn with red cardigans at Chanel; mirrored stars were laced around dresses, shoes and models’ necks at Yves Saint Laurent; and, on the stage at Lanvin, there was practically a Coney Island boardwalk with ice cream treats and fireworks.

In an informal poll of the editors and retailers, the theme was among the most consistently cited as a favorite. Linda Wells, the editor of Allure, pointed to the big crystal brooches at Chanel, which came in the shape of dollar and euro signs, as among her must-haves for spring, “especially after these two long weeks of being painfully aware of the weakness of the dollar,” she said, contemplating her expense report.

The clear winners of the season were Lanvin, Stella McCartney and Dries van Noten. Barbara Atkin of Holt Renfrew in Toronto cited Lanvin’s tuxedo with beaded buttons, Ms. McCartney’s white pantsuit (a tailored jacket with full sheer pants) and a floral print sheath from Mr. van Noten (“an icon of spring ’08,” she said).

Khajak Keledjian, the chief executive of Intermix, chose Lanvin’s silk cocktail dress with exaggerated ruffles, a wave print dress from Chloé and Ms. McCartney’s white halter-neck jumpsuit as his favorites. Ms. McCartney’s floral prints also scored well with fashion directors and, incidentally, Alexis Phifer, who with her fiancé, Kanye West, attended more shows than most buyers and therefore qualifies to give an opinion. (Ms. Phifer’s other choices were fisherman boots from Hermès and leather corset belts from Givenchy.)

In fact, floral prints were such a hit throughout the collections that some retailers went so far as to see, metaphorically speaking, dollar signs.

“It has to be the floral print,” said Ken Downing, the fashion director for Neiman Marcus. “Flowers are everywhere.”