PARIS: This week, the hub of the world's luxury market is Paris, with Tuesday serving as the first significant day of ready-to-wear displays. Approximately 107 labels will present spring/summer 2023 collections at Paris Fashion Week, including industry heavyweights Saint Laurent and Dior. Here are a few of the highlights thus far:
NOSTALGIC PALACE OF DIOR
Visitors Nathalie Portman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Rosamund Pike, and Emma Raducanu saw this ill-restored palace in the Tuileries Gardens annexe with interest. To portray the mystery of earlier times, vines climbed through Renaissance doors, over rotting wooden cornices, and down worn columns.
The set was inspired by Catherine of Medicis, a Renaissance queen who relocated to the Tuileries in the 16th century and was roughly based on the Dior headquarters on Avenue Montaigne.
On the spot that has since been demolished, she had the renowned gardens and a palace constructed.
Catherine also brought Italian Burano lace, corsets, and heels to the French court; Maria Grazia Chiuri of Dior chose these items for this thoughtful display of 84 outfits that featured a lot of black and white.
Along the dusty palatial runway, writing dancers danced amidst ribbed corsets, high Renaissance waists, and masses of lace.
Chiuri's look rarely deviated from the canon despite modern additions like sheeny textiles and practical toggles. The Dior presentation was at its best in seasons as a result.
STARS AND STRIPES ARE BROUGHT TO PARIS BY VAQUERA
For Monday's instalment of fashion week, a day designated for up-and-comers, a flare of American funk greeted Paris. Vaquera, who gained notoriety in New York five years ago with a U.S. flag gown and voluminous train, travelled to London this season and was a standout.
For spring-summer, designers Patric DiCaprio and Bryn Taubensee combined their edgy ensembles with more commercially oriented ones. Distressed denim, Vivienne Westwood's heyday punk exuberance and corsetry, as well as copious Americana influences (such as a loose, sheeny biker jacket), defined the frequently sellable 31-look exhibition.
The American flag made a comeback on the runway, this time as a sheer shawl that flowed into a stunning inflating parachute skirt.
THE LIFE OF LANCOME IS BEAUTIFUL
One of the most recognisable cosmetic and fragrance companies in Paris, Lancome, was honoured at the season's first big event. VIP attendees, including model Noemie Lenoir, were welcomed Monday night into the opulent Petit Palais location by the banks of the Seine River by a stone stairway speckled with coloured light.
This year, L'Oreal-owned Lancome celebrated the tenth anniversary of their best-selling "La Vie Est Belle" (life is beautiful) fragrance. Sara Sampaio, a Victoria's Secret model, attended the event at the renowned art gallery while wearing a frilly black mini.
