Paris fashion week: the six most memorable shows

Perhaps it was the designer's way of distracting us from the euro zone's recent turmoil or Greece's looming debt crisis, but the recent haute couture shows in Paris was a feast of the fantastical.

For what is fashion but for its ability to offer us escape? The glamour on Parisian runways is a chance for fashion fans to relish the myth-making prowess of the highest echelons of the craft. And at these prices, couture is pure fantasy for most people - in more ways than one.

This season was especially surreal. Who can forget the backgammon game at Chanel's table? How about a theatre piece on the Schiaparelli runway? Or perhaps you'd prefer a night out with Siouxsie and the Banshees at Armani Privé? What is certain is that the exclusive clientele still has many reasons to celebrate this season, and here are pick of the most memorable shows.

This season it's (French for "no further bets"), as one might hear at the roulette table. Chanel was playing power games, and Karl Lagerfeld turned the Grand Palais into Casino Royale, where celebrities such as Rita Ora gathered around a backgammon table to place bets and initiate other power players - think Kristen Stewart, Julianne Moore, Vanessa Paradis and Korean megastar G-Dragon, among others - to the pleasures of money games. Some in the audience, however, found satisfaction in admiring Chanel's celebrity clout and the edgy women's suits and cocktail dresses created using geisha influences. Needless to say, these were aimed at loosening the purse strings of an Asian clientele. A safe bet, for sure.