Yves Saint Laurent Fall-Winter ready-to-wear 2012 fashion collection

If you could only see one show on Paris' packed nine-day-long fall-winter 2011-12 ready-to-wear calendar, it would have to be Yves Saint Laurent.

Not because it was the most amazing — though the collection was a strong one — but because it synthesised in several dozen looks the main trends that have swept Paris catwalks like wildfire over the past week.

Everything was there: the proper wool princess coats with oversized fur sleeves that were practically inescapable this season — except at animal lover Stella McCartney's fur- and leather-free label — the ultra-wide length trousers, high-waisted A-line skirts and pantsuits that all channeled an easy '70s elegance, similar to what Chloe fielded earlier in the day, and there was the cape —must-have outerwear piece.

The City of Light's collections move into their second-to-last day on Tuesday, but there are still blockbuster shows ahead, including Valentino, new Alexander McQueen designer Sarah Burton's second collection and the ever-jaw-dropping mega-production from Chanel, which draws literally thousands of women decked out in head-to-toe Chanel.

Stella McCartney

Oversized volumes and slinky, body-conscious looks duked it out on McCartney's catwalk.

Volume took the first swing, with extra-wide-shouldered blazers that practically doubled the width of the narrow models, and chunky knit sweaterdresses that through some miracle of engineering held their maxi-shapes.

Slinkiness rallied with sexed-up second-skin dresses with hour glass-shaped paneling that gave the models impossibly nipped waists. A sheer stripe of polka-dotted tulle stretched up the leg of a black catsuit, giving it an extra dose of sexiness.

Though it seemed clear enough that the body-conscious looks won the fight — after all, who wants to look twice as wide as they actually are? — the dialectic was a fun one that kept things interesting on the catwalk.

Yves Saint Laurent

YSL designer Stefano Pilati is a master tailor, and his take on all the season's hottest pieces were impeccably cut and breathed an effortless Parisian chic.

It's a safe bet that there's not a fashionista out there who wouldn't trade just about anything for one of those white halter-top jumpsuits, cinched at the waist with oversized gold chains, or the coat in purple Prince of Wales checks that dissolved into a sprinkling of marabou feathers at the hemline, or the wide-legged pants paired with a mutton-chop sleeve, lavalier-neck blouse.