Paris Fashion Week kicked off on Wednesday with a big comeback: Pierre Cardin, famous for his futuristic fashion in the 1960s, returned to the runway after 10 years at his old Espace Cardin auditorium. And he came back with a bang, introducing a Spring/Summer 2011 collection of his-and-hers blue raincoats, white lace evening dresses and pod-like bags. The collection seemed to draw on his '60s Space-Age aesthetic but also felt modernized the 21st century. Several wide-hipped dresses seemed like the stuff of fairy tales. Cardin designed clothes for The Beatles and The Rolling Stones back in the day, but now Lady Gaga, who is reportedly a fan, is likely taking note.
Patrick Kovarik / AFP / Getty Images
Belgian designer Dries Van Noten kick-started the week with a light and airy collection on Wednesday, complete with delicate silks, manly cuts, and kimono-style dresses inspired by Chinese porcelain. Colors included pale purples, yellows and off-white. A highlight of the collection was a metallic kimono top rimmed with black silk and worn over a diaphanous white skirt. "It's the '40s, the '70s and the '90s all mixed," he told the AFP. "The '40s for their elegance, the quirkiness of the '70s, and the androgyny of the '90s." On the day that Van Noten made headlines for his womenswear collection, he plowed ahead in menswear, too: on Wednesday the doors opened to his first men's-only store on Paris' Left Bank. The 1,076-square-foot store is selling his debut men's eveningwear collection, as well as one-of-a-kind accessories.
Christophe Ena / AP Photo
Another early hit was the Rochas collection, which showed in Paris on Wednesday. Floral jackets, suede coats over billowing pants, safari dresses, and charmeuse gowns for evening blanketed the runway. The line's designer, Marco Zanini, said he found inspiration in his mother's homeland of Sweden.
Christophe Ena / AP Photo
For all the pomp and circumstance on some runways last March, Phoebe Philo's collection for Céline served as the industry bellwether for what women are actually wearing this season. Philo, known for her reign at Chloe, debuted at Céline in March 2009 after taking time off to spend with her family. And she's been on an upward trajectory since then, wowing critics, creating trends and—wait for it—really selling clothes. Wrote Lisa Armstrong in The Times of London last March: "Philo's influence… is everywhere, across catwalks and, I saw last week, the windows of Zara." Her last collection of slim jackets, cropped pants, and tweed coats have been snapped up by front row stalwarts and, as the curtain rose on New York Fashion Week in mid-September, T's Sally Singer wrote in a column: "…the main questions on the minds of fashion editors as how much Céline there would be on the catwalks." Will Philo's reign continue next season? We'll have to wait until Sunday to find out.
Dominique Charriau / WireImage
A preview picture shot behind-the-scenes at Dior was published in WWD Wednesday—and what it reveals is quite surprising. Hawaiian fringe skirts, bright mini-dresses with tropical prints—even a snakeskin bag in pink and yellow. Another picture from fittings shows Jean Paul Gaultier next to model Coco Rocha, who's wearing one of his upcoming designs: a jumpsuit consisting of bandanas covered in pictures of planets and outer-space. Could these looks really appear on the runway? Tune into their shows—Dior on Friday October 1 at 2:30 pm and Jean Paul Gaultier on Saturday October 2 at 7 P.M.—and find out!
Dimitrios Kambouris / WireImage
We know, fashion set, we know: every day, different shows; every night, different parties. It must get tiring. But amidst a very full schedule of parties for the upcoming week in Paris, here's one event that's for a good cause: Lapo Elkann and Bianca Brandolini's bash on October 1, co-hosted by Italian Vogue and Carlos Miele, on Rue Saint Honore. The Agnelli heir and his model girlfriend have created limited edition T-shirts for the occasion, the proceeds of which will go to the Rainforest Foundation.
Alessandra Tarantino
The most anticipated event of the week is undoubtedly Sarah Burton's collection for Alexander McQueen, which will show on October 5. It will be her first women's show since taking the reins as creative director at Alexander McQueen in May, following the designer's tragic death last March. And because McQueen famously out-did himself with each new season, all eyes are watching Burton to see if she'll measure up. But as McQueen's right-hand woman for 14 years, Burton is fit for the task—and seems to be confidently ushering in a new chapter for the fashion house. In her first interview in her new role, she told WWD that she doesn't plan to "pretend to be Lee" by recreating the spectacle of his shows, but that her upcoming season promises the McQueen staples of "tailoring, incredible dresses, embroideries, prints—and the sexiness." She says of her new direction: "There will always be this McQueen spirit and essence. But, of course, I'm a woman so maybe more from a woman's point of view."
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