A parade of renowned designers
Paris Fashion Week
Paris Fashion Week, the last and most prestigious stop on the world's fashion circuit, hosted some of the most renowned designers.
One of the salient moments was Wednesday night when Valentino, the designer to the stars, unveiled glamorous gowns fit for any young starlet in his last ready-to-wear show before retiring after 45 years in fashion.
Models in bright cocktail dresses and long gowns in his signature red, or with polka dots and ruffles, glided down a mirrored catwalk before twirling in front of the cameras. Party music accompanied the show, with the models dancing at the end and guests rising for the obligatory standing ovation.
One of the undisputed kings of fashion, Valentino will retire in January after a final haute couture show and hand the reins to relatively unknown designer Alessandra Facchinetti.
"This is the one before the last and I want to do my best, and why not?" the 75-year-old Valentino asked. "I am full of joy and a little emotional of course, and I am very strong because as I told you ... I leave the room, but the room is still full."
His departure follows the sale of his Valentino Fashion Group to the European private equity group Permira, which industry insiders have said want a younger, more innovative designer to help it expand to new markets.
Anna Piaggi of Italian Vogue thought it was time for a change, saying Valentino needed some new ideas. "It's boring," she said after the show. "It's not good, it's not modern. Why do we constantly say it's beautiful? Why?"
Valentino's signature scarlet evening gowns have long made him a hit for red carpet events, where he has dressed famous names like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Audrey Hepburn and Julia Roberts. His conservative style still attracts many fans.
"It's very definitely the end of an era. Valentino is irreplaceable," said Hilary Alexander, fashion director at Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper. "He understands his customers, he has a respect for women and a lifelong appreciation of beauty."
Valentino is widely ranked alongside Giorgio Armani and Karl Lagerfeld as the last of the great designers from an era before fashion became a global, highly commercial industry run as much by accountants and marketing executives as the couturiers.
Lagerfeld said he also regretted his competitor's departure. "I'm not very happy," he said after his own show. "He's on top form, he should continue."
Lagerfeld, whose name is now owned by a private equity company Apax Partners, presented a youthful collection for his own label, which took inspiration from the 1980s. Models paraded on a rainbow-striped runway in short ruffled skirts or trousers of black see-through tulle.
Lagerfeld, who also designs for Chanel, edits books and who is approaching 70, said he had no intention of slowing down. "The number of contracts I have, I'm like a man with a death sentence," he said.
Christian Lacroix, another firm fixture on the Paris fashion scene whose label was sold in 2005 to a privately held US investment company, used headwear to give his collection an extravagant theme. Hand-painted silk caftans, cutaway swimsuits or floaty dresses were teamed with printed scarves wound around the neck and piled up on top of the head.
Designer Vivienne Westwood used her spring-summer 2008 fashion show on Monday to rail against a plan by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to increase the number of days terror suspects can be held without charge.
She called the collection 56 after the proposal to hold people for 56 days and some of the models were wrapped in drapes bearing that number.
The outspoken 66-year-old, who has kept her edge since her bondage-inspired creations for the Sex Pistols, also accused Mr Brown of behaving like a tyrant and said he should go.
"56 days is not going to protect us from terrorism," she told reporters after the show.
"We need protection from our tyrants, we need people in front of the law." Westwood's show, in a room in the Louvre art museum, featured hooded capes, PVC dresses, padded hips and bustiers.
She has long been considered an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry, and along with other quirky designers, is considered important in giving fashion its cutting edge.
But her designs also have a faithful following among shoppers. The front-row was graced with stars such as singer Kanye West, but also buyers from major stores including Britain's Liberty, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and Harrods. The British theme continued at the Dior afternoon show where musician Sting had a front row seat.
"It's very theatrical, very dramatic, it's exciting, it's sexy," the former Police singer said.
Models wearing elegant glamour reminiscent of outfits worn by actress Marlene Dietrich, stepped out to the sounds of Sting's song, Englishman in New York.
Dior's British designer, John Galliano, who is celebrating 10 years as the creative leader of the fashion house this year, appeared at the end in a dinner jacket but wearing no trousers.
Vacuum maker James Dyson teamed up with Japanese fashion label Issey Miyake for a spring-summer collection with an airy theme aimed at showcasing innovative designs.
Models stepped out of a giant plastic yellow tube similar to those used in Dyson's distinctive bagless vacuum cleaners that use cyclone technology to suck up dirt.
The ceiling of the tent, next to the pyramid in front of the Louvre art museum, was decorated with giant yellow pipes pumping out gusts of air.
Models wore boots shaped like tubes and one wore a dress fastened at the waist with a loose coil of grey tubing. Another skirt carried a "five-year guarantee" tag.
The collaboration between Britain's Dyson and Issey Miyake creative director Dai Fujiwara was supposed to highlight their interest in clever designs. Miyake's collection also brought in a nautical theme, with one model wearing a green jean jacket and skirt printed with wind patterns going over oceans.
The watery link was also repeated in other designers' work on show in Paris, with Japan's Tsumori Chisato drawing her inspiration from life under the sea. To the sound of breaking waves, models paraded floaty dresses adorned with prints of tropical fish, pink coral or with starfish holding back their long flowing hair.
Paris Fashion Week has also opened itself up to Indian designers for the first time as it tries to reflect new faces in an increasingly globalised industry.
Manish Arora, a young designer from New Dehli, presented a glittering first Paris show after four successive seasons in London. Arora, who already has five boutiques and 75 sales points around the world, sent out models in floor-length peasant dresses, bell-bottoms, bodysuits and fitted hotpants dripping with sequins and in bright oranges, greens, pinks and reds.
The models teetered down the runway on gold and silver Christian Louboutin shoes.
A second Indian designer, Anamika, will present her collection tomorrow.
One of the salient moments was Wednesday night when Valentino, the designer to the stars, unveiled glamorous gowns fit for any young starlet in his last ready-to-wear show before retiring after 45 years in fashion.
Models in bright cocktail dresses and long gowns in his signature red, or with polka dots and ruffles, glided down a mirrored catwalk before twirling in front of the cameras. Party music accompanied the show, with the models dancing at the end and guests rising for the obligatory standing ovation.
One of the undisputed kings of fashion, Valentino will retire in January after a final haute couture show and hand the reins to relatively unknown designer Alessandra Facchinetti.
"This is the one before the last and I want to do my best, and why not?" the 75-year-old Valentino asked. "I am full of joy and a little emotional of course, and I am very strong because as I told you ... I leave the room, but the room is still full."
His departure follows the sale of his Valentino Fashion Group to the European private equity group Permira, which industry insiders have said want a younger, more innovative designer to help it expand to new markets.
Anna Piaggi of Italian Vogue thought it was time for a change, saying Valentino needed some new ideas. "It's boring," she said after the show. "It's not good, it's not modern. Why do we constantly say it's beautiful? Why?"
Valentino's signature scarlet evening gowns have long made him a hit for red carpet events, where he has dressed famous names like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Audrey Hepburn and Julia Roberts. His conservative style still attracts many fans.
"It's very definitely the end of an era. Valentino is irreplaceable," said Hilary Alexander, fashion director at Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper. "He understands his customers, he has a respect for women and a lifelong appreciation of beauty."
Valentino is widely ranked alongside Giorgio Armani and Karl Lagerfeld as the last of the great designers from an era before fashion became a global, highly commercial industry run as much by accountants and marketing executives as the couturiers.
Lagerfeld said he also regretted his competitor's departure. "I'm not very happy," he said after his own show. "He's on top form, he should continue."
Lagerfeld, whose name is now owned by a private equity company Apax Partners, presented a youthful collection for his own label, which took inspiration from the 1980s. Models paraded on a rainbow-striped runway in short ruffled skirts or trousers of black see-through tulle.
Lagerfeld, who also designs for Chanel, edits books and who is approaching 70, said he had no intention of slowing down. "The number of contracts I have, I'm like a man with a death sentence," he said.
Christian Lacroix, another firm fixture on the Paris fashion scene whose label was sold in 2005 to a privately held US investment company, used headwear to give his collection an extravagant theme. Hand-painted silk caftans, cutaway swimsuits or floaty dresses were teamed with printed scarves wound around the neck and piled up on top of the head.
Designer Vivienne Westwood used her spring-summer 2008 fashion show on Monday to rail against a plan by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to increase the number of days terror suspects can be held without charge.
She called the collection 56 after the proposal to hold people for 56 days and some of the models were wrapped in drapes bearing that number.
The outspoken 66-year-old, who has kept her edge since her bondage-inspired creations for the Sex Pistols, also accused Mr Brown of behaving like a tyrant and said he should go.
"56 days is not going to protect us from terrorism," she told reporters after the show.
"We need protection from our tyrants, we need people in front of the law." Westwood's show, in a room in the Louvre art museum, featured hooded capes, PVC dresses, padded hips and bustiers.
She has long been considered an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry, and along with other quirky designers, is considered important in giving fashion its cutting edge.
But her designs also have a faithful following among shoppers. The front-row was graced with stars such as singer Kanye West, but also buyers from major stores including Britain's Liberty, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and Harrods. The British theme continued at the Dior afternoon show where musician Sting had a front row seat.
"It's very theatrical, very dramatic, it's exciting, it's sexy," the former Police singer said.
Models wearing elegant glamour reminiscent of outfits worn by actress Marlene Dietrich, stepped out to the sounds of Sting's song, Englishman in New York.
Dior's British designer, John Galliano, who is celebrating 10 years as the creative leader of the fashion house this year, appeared at the end in a dinner jacket but wearing no trousers.
Vacuum maker James Dyson teamed up with Japanese fashion label Issey Miyake for a spring-summer collection with an airy theme aimed at showcasing innovative designs.
Models stepped out of a giant plastic yellow tube similar to those used in Dyson's distinctive bagless vacuum cleaners that use cyclone technology to suck up dirt.
The ceiling of the tent, next to the pyramid in front of the Louvre art museum, was decorated with giant yellow pipes pumping out gusts of air.
Models wore boots shaped like tubes and one wore a dress fastened at the waist with a loose coil of grey tubing. Another skirt carried a "five-year guarantee" tag.
The collaboration between Britain's Dyson and Issey Miyake creative director Dai Fujiwara was supposed to highlight their interest in clever designs. Miyake's collection also brought in a nautical theme, with one model wearing a green jean jacket and skirt printed with wind patterns going over oceans.
The watery link was also repeated in other designers' work on show in Paris, with Japan's Tsumori Chisato drawing her inspiration from life under the sea. To the sound of breaking waves, models paraded floaty dresses adorned with prints of tropical fish, pink coral or with starfish holding back their long flowing hair.
Paris Fashion Week has also opened itself up to Indian designers for the first time as it tries to reflect new faces in an increasingly globalised industry.
Manish Arora, a young designer from New Dehli, presented a glittering first Paris show after four successive seasons in London. Arora, who already has five boutiques and 75 sales points around the world, sent out models in floor-length peasant dresses, bell-bottoms, bodysuits and fitted hotpants dripping with sequins and in bright oranges, greens, pinks and reds.
The models teetered down the runway on gold and silver Christian Louboutin shoes.
A second Indian designer, Anamika, will present her collection tomorrow.