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Fri 2 Oct 2009

Dior (by John Galliano)

You could have been fooled into thinking you were in a film-noir at Galliano’s show for Dior when screams and gun shots opened the show set to a back-drop of gangster silhouettes projected on to walls. Enter the Femme Fatales..

The 1920s were the big theme for Dior, with prim and proper belted trenches (think early Lauren Bacall) and tailoring leading into lingerie….and lots of it! Satin cami knicker style shorts, petticoats, babydolls and slip dresses teased the eye, whilst lace overlay dresses were teamed up with glittery ankle socks and brightly coloured wedges.

Lace, tulle, chiffon and well..underwear(!) seem to be signature themes in many of the shows in London, Milan and Paris and Galliano was keen to define his own version. Transparent lingerie in pretty pastels complemented pale complexions, bright red lipstick and wavy hair. Dior was all about the Gangsters Moll, a sexy film siren we can all aspire to be.

(Photograph: AFM)

Vivienne Westwood Gold Label

Imagine an old Parisian chateau that’s been set alight and you’ll be right there at the heart of Vivienne Westwood’s spring/summer 2010 ready-to-wear collection.

Models in scorched flame-red beehives and red smeared lips staggered in the corridors of the mansion, giving off the effect of having escaped the fire, with distressed fabrics featuring raw hems and slashing to complete the look.

But this wasn’t just another thetarical Westwood show, this show had a meaning, as the chateau represented the earth and the fire ‘ climate change’, an issue close to Westwood’s heart these days.

And the references didn’t stop there, as dresses scrawled with ticking clocks hammered the message home further and models carried bags printed with ‘5 degrees’ referring to the expected rise in global temperatures as an effect of global warming.

Westwood is still the grand dame of eccentricity, but this time the designer who brought us the Punk Revolution wants us to join the people’s revolution and save the rainforest, because if we do that, as she herself quoted, we save the planet.

(Photograph: AFM)

Lanvin

Fashion going through a recession….not at Lanvin, where decadence and opulence were the theme!

Designer Alber Elbaz’s collection was full of sumptuous fabrics, heavenly draping, rich gold beading and more luxurious detailing to make us think fashion has never heard of the word recession.

A lipstick red silk cocktail dresse was a key piece, which draped like a marble statue. Beaded sexy pantsuits and metallic sweaters shimmied as did the single-sleeved little black dress worn with one gloved arm. Dazzling poncho dresses, tropical prints and a salsa soundtrack may have had you thinking you had steeped into ’one night in Rio’.

Other dresses in shimmering crystals, beaded vests, and layering after layering of heavy beads in gilt and crystals, sparkled over chiffon and tulle.

Lanvin was about celebrating sensuality and beauty.

(Photographs: AFM)

I’ll have more reports from the catwalk shows over the weekend at Paris Fashion Week, so keep reading!

Showbiz-i