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 The nine days of runway presentations in Paris, which began on
Monday evening with young labels including France's Jacquemus,
follows fashion weeks in New York, London and Milan that also
showcased styles for next autumn and winter.
Highlights in France will include designer debuts at storied
couture house Lanvin, which is striving for a turnaround under
new Chinese owner Fosun, as well as at Nina Ricci.
But all eyes will be on Karl Lagerfeld's last collection for
Chanel, the brand known for its tweed suits which he turned into
a luxury powerhouse in more than 35 years as creative chief.
Lagerfeld died last week aged 85, and his last Chanel designs
will air on March 5.
At Dior, the LVMH brand that is one of the biggest French labels
presenting collections in Paris, designer Maria Grazia Chiuri
went back to its 1950s origins with flared A-line skirts and
jackets or poncho-style wraps cinched at the waist.
Some looks featured leather jackets paired with whispier,
polka-dotted skirts, while chequered prints in red, green and
black dominated other outfits.
Styles referenced the "Teddy Girls" - 50s era girl gangs, who
like their "Teddy Boy" counterparts wore Edwardian-inspired
clothes that came to define this quirky, rebellious subculture.
Chiuri told Reuters she was inspired to return to this period
and explore Dior's relationship with Britain when the brand
decided to put on a retrospective exhibit along these lines at
London's V&A museum.
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PVC rain hats, chunky boots and tartan prints added to the British
feel of the collection, where Chiuri also revisited the pleated,
longer skirts and see-through textures she has come to favor.
"ALCHEMIST" LAGERFELD
Chiuri paid homage to Lagerfeld in her show calling him an
"alchemist of elegance and beauty" in a press note.
"I was so honored to meet him initially in my career in Fendi," she
told reporters, saying his death was a "time for reflection" about
the past and future of fashion.
At the star-studded Dior show, where actresses Jennifer Lawrence and
Lily Collins sat on the front row, guests also paid tribute to
Lagerfeld's unique qualities.
"His crazy way of thinking, his freedom of expression, his
constantly renewed creativity in all the arts linked to fashion,
whether it be textiles, embroidery," former Socialist minister
Segolene Royale told Reuters.
"It's a true joy to see this creativity continue and resist the
trivialisation of globalisation."
The first full day of Paris Fashion Week was set to close on Tuesday
with the latest collection by Kering brand Saint Laurent.
(Writing by Sarah White; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
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