(Photo: Mitchell Feinberg)

The Best Bet
In the real world, it’s ridiculous to even look at a ski parka in August. But in fashionland, it’s already fall, and true shoppers are circling the first deliveries of the season. A collaboration between Balenciaga’s Nicolas Ghesquière and superchic French skiwear company Moncler is one of the hotter collections on the horizon; the slick, shiny nylon jackets are filled with high-tech goose down, and shaped snug to the body with military precision. They’ll be long gone come the first snowfall, so get on the list now ($1,310 to $1,565 at Balenciaga, 542 W. 22nd St., nr. Eleventh Ave., 212-206-0872; and Barneys New York, 660 Madison Ave., at 61st St., 212-826-8900).