Fashionistas’ spike heels left little holes behind them as they climbed the grass-covered bleachers, perching on little removable cushions for Hermes’ Wimbledon-in-Paris-themed show. Only once it started, it wasn’t clear if you should be watching the models, which sported sweatbands and flippy pleated skirts, or the spirited mock match being played at the far end of the verdant hall.
One opponent managed to send a stray ball flying high into the crowd, where it bounced off a spectator’s head. Sport was also in the air at Louis Vuitton, where Marc Jacobs sent out models with enormous Afros wearing mismatched looks layered over knitted biker shorts. For his signature line, Dior designer John Galliano also delivered heavily layered looks, covering the models at his “Sunset Boulevard”-inspired show with sheer negligees, light printed skirts, sharp-shouldered jackets and trenches with lace paneling.
Prada’s second line Miu Miu’s collection – which brought together parts of a straight-laced schoolgirl’s wardrobe and that of a Vegas showgirl circa 1955 – was disquieting, slightly subversive and very appealing.
Lebanese designer Elie Saab, a red carpet favorite, sent out a collection of asymmetrical sheath dresses with powerful shoulders and chiffon goddess gowns sprinkled with sequins which, while not quite Academy Awards material, would have been perfect for one of the myriad Oscar run-up awards ceremonies. I’m guessing singer Nelly Furtado, one of the show’s front-row guests, can find the right occasion to slip into one of them.
Kenzo rocked the casbah with an alluring collection of mosaic-tile printed sundresses and harem pants of North African inspiration, as The Clash’s iconic hit blasted and an enormous metallic sun burst into shreds of tiny foil confetti overhead.
French-born designer Roland Mouret, whose label bears the cumbersome name RM by the designer Roland Mouret, was on-trend with his artfully draped metallic jersey jumpers and asymmetrical cocktail dresses.
Paris’ ready-to-wear shows officially ended last Thursday afternoon, following shows by five smaller-name labels. The city’s fall/2010-winter/2011 displays start in early March. LOUIS VUITTON Louis Vuitton’s spring-summer woman is equal parts hippie traveler, Catholic schoolgirl, Manhattan bike messenger, football quarterback and blaxploitation star Pam Grier.
Models dwarfed by their massive Afros, which came in all shades of natural hair color, sported clothes in a riot of colors and textures, with materials from cotton broadcloth in nerdy checks to nubby knits and slick fluorescent microfibers, lustrous metallics, football jersey mesh and ribbons.
“We decided to do something real and look at the clothes people wear on the street and in urban landscapes,” Jacobs said. “Then of course we heightened it to a place where it became entertaining for all, which is what fashion’s all about.”
The hybrid theme was an ideal vehicle for accessories and handbags – major cash cows for Vuitton. The models toted slick leather backpacks that looked, oddly, like garbage bags, as well as more conventional backpacks and messenger bags with oversized fur animal tails dangling off them.
Little tails and tufts of fur also embellished nearly all of the shoes on offer, from the kitten-heeled boots to the nubby suede loafers to the cute Velcro-strapped clog-sandal hybrids.
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so beautifull