Where art meets fashion

Designer Marc Jacobs paraded out ultra-bright outfits in his Louis Vuitton show on Sunday, wrapping up a fashion week that saw Valentino wave goodbye and a row of new designers celebrate their Paris catwalk debut.

At Vuitton, models wearing transparent black layers over beaming yellow skirts walked out into a tent set up in a courtyard of the Louvre museum, as rapper Kanye West and singer Courtney Love applauded from the front row.

The Vuitton show came at the end of a fashion marathon which has taken editors and buyers from New York to London, Milan and Paris in the past few weeks, and featured Valentino's last ready-to-wear show before retiring after 45 years in fashion.

Designer to the stars, the Italian designer showed glamorous gowns in his signature red, or with polka dots and ruffles.

One of the undisputed kings of fashion, Valentino, 75, will retire in January after a final haute couture show and hand the reins to relatively unknown designer Alessandra Facchinetti.

As Valentino took one of his last bows, a series of new designers celebrated their debut on the Paris catwalks, including Indian designers Manish Arora and Anamika.

Japan's Limi Feu also showed in Paris for the first time, presenting sharply-tailored jackets as her father, established designer Yohji Yamamoto, watched on, saying he was very nervous.

Belgium's Olivier Theyskens, 30, presented his second collection for fashion label Chloe on Sunday and let autumn leaves from the Tuileries gardens waft over his catwalk for a nature-inspired collection of silky dresses.

Theyskens, who came from fashion house Rochas after the label stopped its fashion business last year, paraded out models wearing light, pastel-coloured dresses and woollen cardigans.

Taking over at an established label is a tricky task for designers who need to prove their own style while respecting the history of a house.

Sweden's Paulo Melim Andersson faced a similar challenge as Theyskens, rolling out his second collection for Chloe, which featured dungaree-style dresses worn over transparent tops.

At fashion house Lanvin, Alber Elbaz has had several years to leave his fingerprint on the label. On Sunday, he won standing ovations for pleated Greek-style dresses, whose trains floated like sails behind them on the catwalk.