THE NOBLE KNIT

No prizes for guessing the most treasured front row swag of the whole month: the Aran sweaters slotted over the backs of every chair at the Alexander Mcqueen show, each with the seatholder’s name printed on the label inside. So much excitement from a jaded crowd demonstrates the soaring status of the knit, which on the Mcqueen runway gained an added jolt of desirability in bottlegreen (one of the stealth colours for next winter), with sporty stripes and zip-seam sleeves, the better to self-ventilate.

There were extraordinary jumpers all over Paris, most notably at Sacai, where the ever-inventive Chitose Abe spliced them with checked chiffons, gaberdines, shirting and quilting to create hybrid sweater-dresses, sweater-jackets and sweater-coats. Best of all were her relatively simple chunky turtlenecks with fat brass side buttons that could be undone to create a cardigan. They’re the price of an expensive coat, and as warm as one.

Mcqueen’s knits are all the more special for frequently being handparty knitted and sustainably harvested. Under creative director Sarah Burton, the label now uses recycled wools and only buys cashmere from sustainably farmed herds. Burton’s growing awareness is partly thanks to the large sustainability team at parent group Kering, led by the formidable Marieclaire Daveu. “You can’t shout about it, because the next thing you know you’ll be caught out for something you didn’t realise you were doing wrong,” says Burton pragmatically. “But we’re learning. We’re using recycled plastic to make sequins and fishing nets for our umbrellas…” You may not have realised Mcqueen made brollies, but with a huge new flagship opening in London in September, it needs a fully rounded out lifestyle collection. That doesn’t mean it’s forgetting its allegiance to craft. Burton took more than 100 seamstresses over to Paris to complete the collection, much of it by hand. “If we lose the craftsmanship we lose our soul”. A sentiment perfectly expressed by those Aran sweaters.