Paris Fashion Week: Hitchcockian cool, Lady Gaga edge, futuristic looks
Amy Verner reports from the runways of Paris Fashion Week, including the new spring/summer 2012 collections of Rochas, Mugler, Dries Van Noten and Gareth Pugh
Rochas Spring/Summer 2012 ready-to-wear collection It would appear that designer Marco Zanini made a beeline for Hitchcock heroines with the beehive hair (wrapped in gauzy headscarves) and ladylike, knee-length hemlines. But as he tells it, the collection represented a broader cinematic style.PATRICK KOVARIK
So even though the silhouettes were a shout-out to the 50s – an era already evoked several times this fashion season – Zanini punched up pieces with Lurex and sparkle. Also, note the pint-sized purses; here, folly trumps function.PATRICK KOVARIK
Mugler Spring/Summer 2012 ready-to-wear collection Creative director Nicola Formichetti spent much of the day tweeting about the lead-up to his show “Mugler woman will eat you tonight,” and a pre-show video featuring Lady Gaga let the audience know, in no uncertain terms, that no one was to mess with this collection.Benoit Tessier
The Mugler woman, after all, is someone who can wear clothes so masterfully tailored that all of the uneven edges, cutouts and scrappy bits look wildly seductive. The consistent camel and cream and black palette directed the focus entirely to form. But needless to say, this is hardly everyday dressing.PATRICK KOVARIK
Dries Spring/Summer 2012 ready-to-wear collection Rare is the season when Belgian designer Dries Van Noten doesn’t go deeper into his own idea repository. But this season, he delivered a particularly stunning start-to-finish collection defined by photo print landscapes and Cristobal Balenciaga shapes.Pascal Rossignol
Botanical prints have been cropping up since the SS12 collections got underway in New York. Here, though, Van Noten moves between the photographic serenity of black and white palm trees and the vivid blue hue of a tropical sea.FRANCOIS GUILLOT
Gareth Pugh Spring/Summer 2012 ready-to-wear collection For his most recent collections, Gareth Pugh has collaborated with filmmaker Ruth Hogben to create avant-garde video backdrops. This one depicted model Crystal Renn in a series of disturbing naked images. Hence, perhaps, the protective cage fashion, where neck flourishes bear a striking resemblance to dog cones.Pascal Rossignol
Fortunately for all the retail buyers in the audience, the collection turned slightly more wearable, as the grid-like pieces softened, yet retained Pugh's signature edge. This look might very well be the twinset of tomorrow.Pascal Rossignol
In fact, as the collection progressed, the groupings became even more wearable. This striped combination will undoubtedly appear in High Street shops, although it will lack Pugh’s finesse with fabric; he has a keen sense of how air passes through his garments and creates dimension.Pascal Rossignol
But then, just when Pugh started to veer too close to normal, the screen erupted into purple flames and out came four models whose heads were entirely concealed in teardrop-shaped headgear. Maybe a day will come when sun protection requires such dramatic measures. Hopefully not.Francois Mori