Gaultier's inventive luxury at Hermes, Galliano's film stars
Saturday, March 05, 2005
PARIS (AFP) - Jean-Paul Gaultier offered a luxurious winter collection at Hermes that drew inspiration from "The Aviator" and "Doctor Zhivago", while John Galliano turned his models into screen sirens.
The French designer successfully combined both creativity and luxury, the Gaultier spirit and the time-honored Hermes tradition in his autumn-winter 2005-06 ready to-wear collection, shown at the ornate Fine Arts School.
Sharply cut leather jackets, flight suits with trench coat details, blue plaid dresses and short sheepskin jackets with a giant "H" cut into the front embodied his inventive and slightly impertinent message.
Fur, the common thread running through the Paris and Milan collections, appeared primarily in the form of Russian-style hats and aviator caps, although Gaultier did offer a short astrakhan jacket edged with fox fur.
Gorgeous tweed and leather ensembles were fastened at the waist with a thin belt that recalled the straps of the fabled Hermes Kelly bag, which next season will be available in woolly leather or covered with a silk scarf.
Gaultier added a man's touch with straight-cut jackets, waistcoats and pinstriped trousers so soft that any thought of stiff masculine-tailored womenswear was quickly laid to rest.
For undeniably feminine flair, he added skirts that looked like giant pleated Hermes silk scarves. Even a bronze blouson jacket was lined with the silk squares.
For evening, long evening gowns in eggplant and emerald velvet revealed sensual bare backs. Gaultier reduced the Kelly handbag to a metallic miniature minaudiere. A long dress in chocolate lambskin resembled a blacksmith's apron, perhaps a tribute to the house's origins as a saddlemaker.
Galliano, the king of fashion drama, produced his show on a film stage in the Paris suburbs, complete with old cameras and special effect, after a fire at the Theatre de l'Empire forced him to find a new location.
With stiff wavy hair and Betty Boop lips, the first models sported white masculine-tailored suits that Marlene Dietrich would have adored. A navy leather trench cut a sharp silhouette, while baggy trousers were covered with denim and leather patchwork squares.
Close-up on a pistachio-colored tapestry coat edged with mink or a white parka dress with Art Deco motifs. Fade in to focus on a short seductive jacket with a ruffled pink satin collar and tufts of white mink spilling out.
For evening, Galliano sent out a parade of gowns that would have been perfect for last weekend's Oscars ceremony, including multicolored polka-dot satin dresses or ensembles with Andy Warhol-esque designs.
With sparks flying and smoke billowing onto the soundstage, the British designer took his bow, acknowledging the crowd's approval of a collection that had a few special effects, but nothing that tarnished its beauty.
At Azzaro, Argentine designer Vanessa Seward successfully reinvents the classic glamour of the label season after season, a recipe that has attracted a slew of Hollywood A-listers like Diane Lane and Salma Hayek.
Evening wear is her bread and butter. She unveiled a burgundy cocktail dress with gold lame polka dots and a black halter dress with gold beads and pearls ringing the neck. A plum and lilac goddess gown is headed for the red carpet.
Seward's black dress with a spider web of gold chains criss-crossing the bare back is a reinterpretation of a classic by Loris Azzaro himself. She added a masculine twist with a sophisticated silver-edged three-piece white suit.
- AFP
