Trend focus: Sneaker couture

Trainers are among this season's most highly desirable footwear. For several years now, sportswear's favorite shoe has been bringing some much needed "street" cred to Paris's longest surviving fashion brands. Both Raf Simons at Dior and Karl Lagerfeld continue to punctuate their silhouettes with a fitness twist. Far from making you look slouchy, the latest lust-have trainers make you want to walk tall.

After last year's Stan Smith revival, spotlighting Adidas's understated white tennis shoe, in 2015 the deluxe trainer is embracing maximalist fashion in a big way.

Take Dior's heavily embellished "Fusion" sneakers (790€) where Dior's exceptional craftsmanship meets the urban world of the house's creative director Raf Simons. Unlike many designers channeling the lacing trend this spring, Simons abandoned the idea of laces, favoring an easy slip-on model adorned with hand-embroidered flowers as a tribute to Christian Dior's fascination with all things floral.

Style rival Karl Lagerfeld kicked off the trend last fall with iridescent pink, orange, red, black and beige quilted tweed designs for Chanel. For spring, Lagerfeld resisted the temptation to pimp out his sneakers and offers more sober cool urban versions in navy, red and white or black and grey (590€).

Also sharing an enthusiasm for rubber soles -- French designer Julien Fournié has created a series of hybrid shoes for his new footwear range. His exclusive digitally designed models include a pair of matte black leather sandals with towering heels, multicolored derby shoes and an all-black high top sneaker.

For Autumn 2015, Parisian statement jewelry brand Shourouk offers a glamorous take on the old-school velcro sneaker with its lavish Italian-made designs satin, patent leather and suede with sequins and Swarovski crystals (950€).