“After three years’ work on the building, I wanted to show in this space,” said Hedi Slimane, as though it were the most natural thing in the world to invite  guests to the impeccably restored gilded Paris mansion and have them watch – in a silence broken only by the announcement of each number – […]

Robert Doisneau’s famous Le Baiser photograph, of a Parisian couple kissing on a crowded street, was backstage at the Giambattista Valli show – and for a reason. The designer, inspired by Paris, made almost his entire collection in mono graphic black and white with just chalky touches of colour.     “It is the intersection […]

Two designers are presenting nuanced collections with subtle statements on how to balance the lives of women in the modern world. Although both offer clothes that women will want to wear, they also show that they understand women’s lives are more complex than ever.     Stella McCartney is a designer who believes that an […]

IN A PSYCHEDELIC CIRCLE of patterns and desert sand shades, the Givenchy collection burst into life. Egyptian life. So this is why we, the audience, were sitting in a maze of sand-coloured wood – as seen inside ancient pyramids, if I remember my history lessons well.   My memory certainly whispered, “snap!” at Riccardo Tisci’s […]

  Céline’s invitation was gummy with Latex, as rubbery yellow and orange leaked into a puddle of black. And that was the message from Creative Director Phoebe Philo: colour, a melting softness and a sloppy modernity. The designer kept the beat to her rhythm of easy clothes for the modern woman, although in reality the […]

BACKSTAGE AT BALMAIN was a paradise (or do I mean a parody?) of fashion in the digital age. There was Kanye West, “invisible” under his hoodie, except that he was wearing a white jersey Balmain jacket, smothered in embroidered pearls. After he had hugged designer Olivier Rousteing, he passed the Creative Director over to his mother-in-law […]

A model walks the runway during the Chloe show . SMART PHONES OUT, search Google: who is “Anne-France Dautheville”, this season’s inspiration for Chloé? The mystery woman turns out to be French, a journalist and writer, who biked around the world in the 1970s. Oh ho! It’s back to that hippie era again. Judging by […]

The legendary and extravagant Italian patron of parties inspires yet another designer.   The hand-painted black eyes stared out from the invitation, as they would later from the models at the Dries Van Noten show. What else would you expect but those brooding, coal black lashes to evoke the narcissistic perfectionist, the addict of grandeur who […]

  With Dior’s Creative Director job empty, ditto Lanvin and wildfire rumours that Hedi Slimane might leave Saint Laurent to take up photography again, Paris collections increasingly seem like displays of borrowed identities. But that does not mean that these second-hand brands are weak. Often the opposite is true.   Maison Margiela: Galliano makes it! At […]

Giorgio Armani celebrates its 40th anniversary with a new exhibition space and a grand fashion show.   From left: Roberta Armani (Mr Armani’s niece), Leonardo DiCaprio, Tina Turner and Giorgio Armani. CREDIT: Giorgio Armani   It was the front row of dreams: Cate Blanchett and Glenn Close gleaming in their white trouser suits; Leonardo DiCaprio hiding behind […]