The lull is almost over, party animals. Mid-January can feel like a bit of a social hiccup—men’s shows aside, there are always a sleepy few weeks between the mayhem of the holiday and the revving up of spring—but that will come to a definite end on Monday when the haute couture shows in Paris begin. A few weeks ago, when I was planning my couture schedule, I wasn’t sure if I looking at much more than a handful of shows and a few meals alone at Café de Flore. This will be the first season with Christian Lacroix off the schedule, which puts the number of impressive shows at not much more than half a dozen, and until recently, it didn’t seem that in this economy anyone had the budget to do a party.

I shouldn’t have worried. As I sit here stuffing my new Tumi duffel bag, I’m looking at quite an impressive week. The drama’s already under way (Giorgio Armani accommodated John Galliano’s requests for a schedule change, albeit not quietly), and more’s to come. On Monday, Balmain is hosting a cocktail party, but many are more interested in Natalia Vodianova’s dinner for her lingerie collection with Etam, which will feature a performance from Charlotte Gainsbourg (pictured). Wednesday night is Swarovski’s chic celebration of their commission of 22 iconic (and presumably sparkly) black dresses, Valentino’s sit-down dinner, and Kate Moss’ fête at the Ritz with Longchamp, which will feature a performance from the Queens of Noize. Makes sense, of course. What’s fashion week without a bunch of noisy queens?