The Paris Fashion Week

The old chestnut about fashion being about contrasts has never been more apt. It's not just about feminine vs. masculine, or short vs. long, or past vs. future, although all those themes played out at the Paris prêt-à-porter shows last week.

"The divergence between the known and the experimental was reflected, too, in the juxtaposition of flouncy with functional; in the contrast of sharp-edge vs. soft line; and in the multi-choice of scintillating brights, subdued flesh tones or black and white."

Much wider issues surfaced, too: democracy vs. inaccessibility, inclusion vs. exclusion and rich vs. poor. The worldwide economic quagmire cast its shadow, with critics addressing the place of extravagantly expensive fashion in a time of doom and gloom.

"The fashion industry, not to be confused with the garment trade, is in the unfortunate position of manufacturing merchandise that many would argue is wholly unnecessary and, when a $10,000 blazer is strutted down a runway by a teenager, is morally offensive.
Despite the good arguments against such a position, she wrote, "few people are willing to pay hundreds of dollars for a T-shirt or thousands for a slip dress any more."

Viktor & Rolf, Dutch designers with a conceptual bent, took their show directly to the Internet, broadcasting their looks for next spring and summer in a video presentation on their Web site. There was one model, Shalom Harlow, 21 looks and an unlimited audience for the presentation, which may have been democratic but certainly did not feature affordable clothes, what with dresses loaded down with rows of Swarovski crystals.

Louis Vuitton: Decoration - in the sense of embellishing the feminine form - was the leitmotif of the show. Shorts and sleeves were sequined; waistcoats embroidered; necks, cleavage and wrists were loaded with jewelled chokers, pendants and cuffs; and those tiny excuses for a skirt were in a patchwork of dotted tulle, metallic lamé and lace. For those who don't fancy.

Dior: John Galliano heeded the call of the wild for Christian Dior, unveiling his "tribal chic" look for next summer which partnered tame silk chiffon with python and sharkskin. He sent out a collection heaving with animal pelts and reptile skins cut up into jackets and coats, some au naturel in black, camel and grey, but others dyed startling shades of orange and acid green.

Nina Ricci: Olivier Theyskens fell back on his design strength, which is evening wear. The gowns at Nina Ricci on Sunday evening were awash in watercolour prints and delicate ruffled streamers. But they all had essentially the same silhouette: cut short in front with a dramatic train. It is a jarring look under the best of circumstances, but even if one hammers home the point with gown after gown, occasionally pairing them with a dramatic jacket that has vaguely Victorian, Edwardian or alien references, one is no more convinced of the viability of the silhouette. Not to be crass, but for these prices, give me the full ball gown. Don't hack out the front.