Futurism is a major trend for spring/summer ’07 and Nicolas Ghesquiere is a major designer who is always looking into the future. Referencing robotic articulation, car parts, droids, and seeking a boyish silhouette, Ghesquiere has abandoned last season’s rounded volumes and set the bar for the season. So, what does that mean for the rest of us? Check it out...

Nicolas Ghesquiere’s work is insanely influential in fashion and he seems to embrace that in his shows. This is an intentionally bold statement, meant to drive a message of extremes. That said, this is the defining silhouette of the season, so ignore the bulbous riding helmet and pay attention to the shapes.

This season showed Ghesquière’s newly attuned nose for the business side of the label. There was a focus on detail and embellishment that certainly had some intention of stumping high street knockoffs, and the introduction of signature t-shirts presents an accessible price point for a new customer. Could it be you?...

Nicolas Ghesquiere’s amalgamation of Cristobal Balenciaga’s historical instinct for shapely simplicity with his own instinct for contemporary design makes this season’s collection for Balenciaga the most comprehensive expression of the label to date. Contrasting hardware and leather with feathers and fur, Ghesquière finds his balance between old world and new.

Nicolas Ghesquiere often abstracts his references so they’re no longer obvious. But this season Balenciaga himself and Napoleon’s navy are very clear reference points for this dressy, luxurious collection.

In an intimate presentation for barely 200 guests, Nicolas Ghesquièew showed 26 looks designed to make women “powerful without being sexy”. Mixing the structure and rigid shape of the house’s archives with his own references of surf culture and printed patchwork, Ghesquiere’s unforgiving silhouettes were architectural wonders, and genuinely new clothes.

Nicolas Ghesquiere’s huge popularity in the fashion world is due to his ability to innovate while still respecting the tradition of his label’s namesake, Cristobal Balenciaga. So when he decided to show his influential collection in New York instead of Paris for the second time in a year, he had the fashion crowd in a flap.

Nicolas Ghesquiere’s tight body-conscious clothes for the Balenciaga Le Dix Spring/Summer 2003 collection exuded the height of 21st century cool. Precision cuts, body-hugging forms and sleek scuba suiting all added up to a collection that dripped with restrained erotic sensuality.

The hottest show at New York Fashion Week this season was without a doubt Balenciaga. When head designer Nicolas Ghesquiere, currently one of fashion's most influencial designers, decided to show in New York as well as in Paris for Fall 2002, he sent fashionistas scrambling to get tickets to the exclusive affair. Fortunately, you don't need a ticket, just an internet connection.

Spring 2002 marked Nicolas Ghesquiere's first effort with his new partners at the Gucci Group. Inspired by the discovery of a small vintage cache of the work of Dutch designer Koos van den Akker, Nicolas legitimised his standing as Designer of the Year with a new voluminous silhouette and an exploration of patchwork pieces infused with that intangible cool quality that has made both Ghesquiere and his garments highly desirable commodities.