Alber Elbaz's fall collection for Lanvin, which showed at the Tuileries Gardens on Saturday, was in full bloom: bright explosions of pink, red, and yellow. These were romantic and whimsical dresses—topped with Lanvin's signature glittering necklaces and bracelets.
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Paging Sergeant Vuitton! On the Louis Vuitton runway on the final day of Paris Fashion Week, the audience was treated to a distinctly military collection, as velvet bustiers, cropped jodhpurs, and military hats blanketed the runway. Creative Director Marc Jacobs introduced a silhouette similar to the sleek look he debuted in his signature collection in New York: knee-grazing skirts and muscular cocoon coats. The collection featured some modeling greats, as well, with Naomi Campbell, Amber Valetta, and Carmen Kass all taking a spin down the runway. But perhaps the greatest moment of all came at the end—when Kate Moss, clad in a pair of hot pants and an oversize fur, strutted down the runway smoking a cigarette.
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This week, Blake Lively was celebrated as the official face of Chanel. And Chanel's fall collection featured a young and modern vibe—if not one that necessarily screams Lively herself. Models emerged from a black molten earth and walked through mist onto the runway. There was a masculine edge to each look—oversize sweater-jackets, rolled trousers, flat boots. For evening, Karl Lagerfeld introduced jumpsuits, in tweed and velvet, with zippers down the front. A black-haired Stella Tenant rocked the runway in black jeans, boots, and a tweed cape.
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Rumors circulated this week that Chloe designer Hannah McGibbon may not renew her contract. The collection she debuted Monday seemed to be inspired by the carefree attitude of the 1970s. The collection featured color-blocked prints, patchworked knits, ponchos and billowing pants.
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Prada's younger sister line, Miu Miu, took "young and hip" to new levels on Wednesday. Hollywood's hottest "It Girls" packed the stands at the show, peppering rows of editors in furs with some fresh faces. There was Winter's Bone star Jennifer Lawrence in a belted red dress—and Black Swan's Mila Kunis, in a black satin mini. But all eyes were on 14-year-old style star Hailee Steinfeld (nominated this year for her role in True Grit), who looked every bit her age in a cream-colored Miu Miu dress, heels and leopard clutch. According to Fashionista.com, Vogue's Andre Leon Talley and Grace Coddington, and Elle editors Robbie Myers and Joe Zee, all called Steinfeld over to talk to her before the show. After the frenzy in the crowd, what came down the runway was a youthful array of floral dresses, off-kilter baseball hats, and furs worn around waists.
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Stefano Pilati's fall collection for Yves Saint Laurent featured gray Prince of Wales checks, a cropped white tuxedo, flowing cream-colored dresses, and high-heels adorned with tiny baubles. A black mesh jumpsuit came with a black cape over it. The crown jewel of the collection was a massive white fur coat, which, over high-waisted cream pants and a sheer white top, made model Freja Beha look like a prizefighter ready for the ring.
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Sculptural shapes, mesh fabrics, and neon underlay—these were the components of the Balenciaga show last week at the Hôtel de Crillon. Nicolas Ghesquière said he was influenced by "scale and perspective," which translated to an experimentation with volume and color, too. There were several layers—vests over dresses over pants. Skirts came in futuristic floral prints, dark looks had neon accents, and scarves were made of rubber. Ghesquiere has the unmatched skill of merging sci-fi with fashion and making a woman feel that by putting on his slim-cut trousers with one of his plumped up tops, she could be a modern superhero.
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Stella McCartney's collection was one that took gender identities to extremes: There were boxy suit jackets, baggy sweaters over lose pants, and gold cocoon coats. Then there were bustier dresses, peplums, mesh dresses, and billowing skirts. Things got really sexy when dresses with massive cutouts came down the runway—one of which looked like a loincloth with see-through panels on either side.
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At first glance, Balmain had all the expected components: gold lamé, tight metallic pants, ripped T-shirts, Kanye West (in a red biker jacket) in the front row. But when the last model left the runway, the audience waited patiently for Balmain's designer, Christophe Decarnin, to emerge for his final bow. Decarnin never showed up. His absence from the show prompted a rumor that he has been in a mental institution since January. The company's president, M. Alain Hivelin, told reporters after the show that Decarnin had been "tired after working on the collection" until 5 a.m. But a spokesperson for Balmain told The Daily Beast that Decarnin was simply "not feeling well" and "by doctor's orders needs rest, and that is the only reason he was not present at the show." The spokesperson said Decarnin hadn't, in fact, been as involved as he would like in the collection this season—but that he was expect to return to work at an unknown time. Meanwhile, in the front row after the show, stylist Melanie Ward told reporters that the collection this season was inspired by "workwear."
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The crowd watched closely at Givenchy, as rumors intensified throughout Fashion Week that the house's creative director, Riccardo Tisci, was first in line to succeed John Galliano at Dior. Tisci's collection consisted of bright mohair sweaters embellished with animal faces, and riding hats with ears. The designer experimented with layering, mixing sheer, knee-length slips with fluted mini-skirts and cropped jackets.
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Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccoli, the Roman design team behind Valentino, sent several diaphanous dresses down the runway in shades of nude, beige, and cream. And, of course, the line's unofficial muse, Florence Welch, was herself in the front row—and, as she filed out in the crowd, began singing. As The New York Times' Eric Wilson wrote: "Walking out of the Valentino show on Tuesday with my colleague Alix Browne from T, we heard someone behind us singing "Missing," the '90s song by Everything but the Girl, which had just been played on the runway soundtrack. …. Maybe it was because it was crowded, hot and late in a long fashion season, but this seemed like kind of a lame thing to be doing. We turned around. It was Florence Welch. Oops. She can sing anything she wants."
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What a week for Dior! After John Galliano was fired for alleged anti-Semitic remarks, all eyes turned to Dior. How would the storied fashion house respond to this shame? At its show on Friday at the Musee Rodin, Dior's CEO, Sidney Toledano, took the stage to refocus the attention of the world on the seamstresses and artisans at the fashion house. "What you are going to see now is the result of the extraordinary, creative, and marvelous efforts of these loyal, hard-working people," he told the crowd. And the result was, indeed, extraordinary: silk bloomers, ruffled dresses, sheer lingerie-style gowns. As Robin Givhan wrote in this week's Newsweek, "What it did do, however, was remind everyone what fashion was before it became thick with theatricality and flamboyance. It was an acknowledgment of fashion as fine clothes. It was a repudiation of everything that Galliano represented."
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After John Galliano left Paris for a rehab facility in Arizona in disgrace, many speculated that the presentation of his signature brand would be canceled. But the John Galliano show went on Sunday, in an intimate salon on the Avenue Foch. The nearly two dozen day and evening looks—shapely tweed jackets, cocoon coats trimmed in fur, feather-trimmed party dresses—served as reminders of the creativity that allowed Galliano to reach the heights of the fashion world. As Dior's Sidney Toledano told Robin Givhan at the show: "I'm here to support the John Galliano team. And they've done a wonderful job."
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Since Sarah Burton inherited the mantle at Alexander McQueen last season, she's been under the microscope. And so far, largely praised for her ability to honor the late designer's legacy while steering the brand into new frontiers. And at the Alexander McQueen show on Tuesday, Burton continued that legacy, uniting a precise vision with expert tailoring and high drama. The collection, which she called "The Ice Queen and Her Court," featured several bleached-out fabrics and furs in dramatic silhouettes. Bodices were built from broken bits of china, shoulders and hems lined with fox fur, and flowing gowns took proportions to an extreme. Midway through the week, rumors reached fever pitch that Kate Middleton had decided on an Alexander McQueen dress to wear at the royal wedding. But at the show, Burton denied those rumors. "It's not me!" she said. "They'll be onto someone else, like Stella or Bruce Oldfield, next week."
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Spectacle is always part of Paris Fashion Week. But if you're not looking closely enough—or if you're in the nosebleed section—you may miss some of the real artistry that comes down the runway. This week, accessories blanketed the runway: Some pieces, such as color-blocked bags and pointed heels at Celine and big necklaces at Dior, will likely wind up on every wish list next fall. Others, such as metal skull caps and spiked skeletor shoes at Alexander McQueen, will likely be the stuff of fantasy instead.
Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho, WireImage / Getty Images; Dominique Charriau, WireImage / Getty Images; Francois Guillot, AFP / Getty Images; Karl Prouse, Catwalking / Getty Images
