This week, Paris staked its claim as the world's fashion capital by hosting the summer haute couture collections. Luxury brands staged dazzling displays to showcase their creations.
John Galliano's haute couture collection for Dior for next summer was a seductive invitation to the ball in the romantic setting of the Bois de Boulogne park in Paris.
In a giant marquee, his models frolicked in sumptuous gowns in rich, vibrant silks, embroidered with gold, or encrusted with crystals and jade.
Overcoats, with extra volume at the back in the style of the legendary Cristobal Balenciaga, were thrown over straight skirts or slinky body-hugging dresses. Other frocks were tight across the bosom but with voluminous skirts.
Slender waistlines were emphasised with peplums, while the backs of dresses were puffed out, and had outsize silk flowers weighing down the hems or nestling in the backs of layered necklines.
Gold arabesque embroidery and geometric motifs were reminiscent of the paintings of Gustav Klimt.
In the programme notes Galliano said he had been inspired by a portrait of Amelie Gautrea in a plunge-neckline dress by the 19th century American painter John Singer Sargent, which caused a scandal at the time.
Celebrities in the audience included the actress Diane Kruger and the model and dancer Dita Von Teese.
A world away from Galliano's extravaganza Portuguese designer Felipe Oliveira Baptista focused his microscope on insects and butterflies for his collection.
Every item in the collection had appliques of a patchwork print of real-life photos of specimens which he bought. The collection also mixed precious fabrics with rougher materials, like goat's fur or cotton with silk prints.
Karl Lagerfeld gave pride of place to the iconic Chanel cardigan jacket at his haute couture collection.
A giant mock-up sculpture of a jacket, complete with the entertwined "C" logo, dominated the podium and revolved to let the models out onto the runway in Lagerfeld's latest take on the timeless classic.
The silhouette of the 2008 vintage Chanel couture jacket is long-line, closely fitted to the body and nipped into the waist and fastened with the house signature buttons. Shoulders are slightly rounded and the collar set back to bare plenty of neckline and sleeves are three-quarter length, finishing in cuffs just below the elbow.
His favourite pairing was with short, gently draped tulip-shaped skirts, with the petals parting mid-thigh, often in slippery satin. Alternatively he showed a box-pleated mini with a hem like a puffball and cropped breeches. Natty short coats were buttoned on the diagonal or had diagonal back vents. And in a welcome change from teetering heels, he shod models in flat pumps with the house camelia on the toe.
For day, the new jacket came in black and white checks and flecked tweeds with lashings of passementerie trim. To turn on the glamour for cocktails, he dressed up the suits with big ruffled white satin blouses with dickeys bristling with semi-precious stones.
Evening frocks were frothy confections, all layers of ruffles, waffling and ruching in sugar pink, apricot and baby blue overlaid with cream or like sculptures in multi-tiered liquid metal sequins.
Christian Lacroix pulled off an exuberant tour de force with his summer haute couture collection on Tuesday, which was a riot of colour and brimming with gowns in which to get noticed.
Lacroix does not dress shrinking violets and some chutzpah would be needed to carry off many of his creations. But every single number was a testament to the level of workmanship and perfection that is the hallmark of couture - from the precious fabrics used wantonly to the lavish detail.
With the speed of a catwalk presentation, there was no time to take it all in... antique gold embroidered lace frothing out over a skirt, encrustations of beading and passementerie on shiny satin, geometric motifs and appliqued flowers down the front of a cropped jacket, a delicate silver frieze on navy blue crepe... all flashed past in a whirl. For his ball gowns, he went for drama, long-line bodices cut close to the body billowing out into voluminous skirts in stiff faille or long flounced trains in silk chiffon. Sleeves, too, came big, leg-of-mutton or ballooned like overblown roses.
A hand-woven saffron wool coat dangled with giant pompoms in bubblegum pink, lime and orange, while one in fake leopard skin had fluttery feather sleeves over an organza dress with coppery lace flounces.
Outsized black and white polka dots, gingham checks and silk chiffon hand-painted with broad-brush strokes in magenta and inky blue competed for attention.
Models had their hair pulled back into a long single plait entwined with artificial flowers and wore black and white striped shoes with ribbon ankle ties.
Riccardo Tisci's collection for Givenchy presented on Tuesday evening showcased narrow pants in second-skin stretch white or black leather or embroidered with metal triangles and crystals, worn with big white blouses or tops with jet-embroidered cuffs and black jackets brightened up with gold. Other strong items were highly structured 16th century-inspired jackets and corsets constructed from layers of organza in gradations of white and poppy red.
His trapeze-line little black dresses had pleats reinforced by white silk organza foliage or hems weighed down by smocking in pale yellow tulle.
French actress Beatrice Dalle and fellow couturier Yohji Yamamoto were in the audience.
From seashells to mermaids, real and imaginary inhabitants of the deep were the inspiration of Jean Paul Gaultier's summer haute collection on Wednesday.
His show opened with a cheeky reinterpretation of Copenhagen's famous little mermaid reclining on a rock surrounded by soap bubbles.
Gaultier's mermaids, with flowing damp tresses, sported his infamous conical bras over their fishtail skirts, which looked like real scales. He also showed a new take on his classic blue and white striped fishermen's jersey, almost morphed into a mini-dress in a lacy knit, over a fishtail skirt in shiny sequins.
A little black dress had shoulders swathed in a fish net, while wide flowing pants swirled like seaweed and jackets looked as if they had been encrusted with seashells.
Models showed off tattooed legs under sweet floral frocks and carried oriental parasols over jumpsuits in silk printed with vegetation.
The bride, in a mother-of-pearl shell conical bra and gold fish scales, hobbled on with crutches, which she discarded after unzipping her mermaid tail to be able to use both her legs to a storm of applause, led by Catherine Deneuve and ex-model Ines de la Fressange.
John Galliano's haute couture collection for Dior for next summer was a seductive invitation to the ball in the romantic setting of the Bois de Boulogne park in Paris.In a giant marquee, his models frolicked in sumptuous gowns in rich, vibrant silks, embroidered with gold, or encrusted with crystals and jade.
Overcoats, with extra volume at the back in the style of the legendary Cristobal Balenciaga, were thrown over straight skirts or slinky body-hugging dresses. Other frocks were tight across the bosom but with voluminous skirts.
Slender waistlines were emphasised with peplums, while the backs of dresses were puffed out, and had outsize silk flowers weighing down the hems or nestling in the backs of layered necklines.
Gold arabesque embroidery and geometric motifs were reminiscent of the paintings of Gustav Klimt.
In the programme notes Galliano said he had been inspired by a portrait of Amelie Gautrea in a plunge-neckline dress by the 19th century American painter John Singer Sargent, which caused a scandal at the time.
Celebrities in the audience included the actress Diane Kruger and the model and dancer Dita Von Teese.
A world away from Galliano's extravaganza Portuguese designer Felipe Oliveira Baptista focused his microscope on insects and butterflies for his collection.
Every item in the collection had appliques of a patchwork print of real-life photos of specimens which he bought. The collection also mixed precious fabrics with rougher materials, like goat's fur or cotton with silk prints.
Karl Lagerfeld gave pride of place to the iconic Chanel cardigan jacket at his haute couture collection.A giant mock-up sculpture of a jacket, complete with the entertwined "C" logo, dominated the podium and revolved to let the models out onto the runway in Lagerfeld's latest take on the timeless classic.
The silhouette of the 2008 vintage Chanel couture jacket is long-line, closely fitted to the body and nipped into the waist and fastened with the house signature buttons. Shoulders are slightly rounded and the collar set back to bare plenty of neckline and sleeves are three-quarter length, finishing in cuffs just below the elbow.
His favourite pairing was with short, gently draped tulip-shaped skirts, with the petals parting mid-thigh, often in slippery satin. Alternatively he showed a box-pleated mini with a hem like a puffball and cropped breeches. Natty short coats were buttoned on the diagonal or had diagonal back vents. And in a welcome change from teetering heels, he shod models in flat pumps with the house camelia on the toe.
For day, the new jacket came in black and white checks and flecked tweeds with lashings of passementerie trim. To turn on the glamour for cocktails, he dressed up the suits with big ruffled white satin blouses with dickeys bristling with semi-precious stones.
Evening frocks were frothy confections, all layers of ruffles, waffling and ruching in sugar pink, apricot and baby blue overlaid with cream or like sculptures in multi-tiered liquid metal sequins.
Christian Lacroix pulled off an exuberant tour de force with his summer haute couture collection on Tuesday, which was a riot of colour and brimming with gowns in which to get noticed.Lacroix does not dress shrinking violets and some chutzpah would be needed to carry off many of his creations. But every single number was a testament to the level of workmanship and perfection that is the hallmark of couture - from the precious fabrics used wantonly to the lavish detail.
With the speed of a catwalk presentation, there was no time to take it all in... antique gold embroidered lace frothing out over a skirt, encrustations of beading and passementerie on shiny satin, geometric motifs and appliqued flowers down the front of a cropped jacket, a delicate silver frieze on navy blue crepe... all flashed past in a whirl. For his ball gowns, he went for drama, long-line bodices cut close to the body billowing out into voluminous skirts in stiff faille or long flounced trains in silk chiffon. Sleeves, too, came big, leg-of-mutton or ballooned like overblown roses.
A hand-woven saffron wool coat dangled with giant pompoms in bubblegum pink, lime and orange, while one in fake leopard skin had fluttery feather sleeves over an organza dress with coppery lace flounces.
Outsized black and white polka dots, gingham checks and silk chiffon hand-painted with broad-brush strokes in magenta and inky blue competed for attention.
Models had their hair pulled back into a long single plait entwined with artificial flowers and wore black and white striped shoes with ribbon ankle ties.
Riccardo Tisci's collection for Givenchy presented on Tuesday evening showcased narrow pants in second-skin stretch white or black leather or embroidered with metal triangles and crystals, worn with big white blouses or tops with jet-embroidered cuffs and black jackets brightened up with gold. Other strong items were highly structured 16th century-inspired jackets and corsets constructed from layers of organza in gradations of white and poppy red.
His trapeze-line little black dresses had pleats reinforced by white silk organza foliage or hems weighed down by smocking in pale yellow tulle.
French actress Beatrice Dalle and fellow couturier Yohji Yamamoto were in the audience.
From seashells to mermaids, real and imaginary inhabitants of the deep were the inspiration of Jean Paul Gaultier's summer haute collection on Wednesday.His show opened with a cheeky reinterpretation of Copenhagen's famous little mermaid reclining on a rock surrounded by soap bubbles.
Gaultier's mermaids, with flowing damp tresses, sported his infamous conical bras over their fishtail skirts, which looked like real scales. He also showed a new take on his classic blue and white striped fishermen's jersey, almost morphed into a mini-dress in a lacy knit, over a fishtail skirt in shiny sequins.
A little black dress had shoulders swathed in a fish net, while wide flowing pants swirled like seaweed and jackets looked as if they had been encrusted with seashells.
Models showed off tattooed legs under sweet floral frocks and carried oriental parasols over jumpsuits in silk printed with vegetation.
The bride, in a mother-of-pearl shell conical bra and gold fish scales, hobbled on with crutches, which she discarded after unzipping her mermaid tail to be able to use both her legs to a storm of applause, led by Catherine Deneuve and ex-model Ines de la Fressange.