Paris Fashion Week: printed silks and striped pyjama pants

“Get me more birds, more birds! No, no, the chirping sort,” was the cry of Etienne Russo, producer of Dries Van Noten’s spring-summer show at the Grand Palais yesterday, the first of the major collections at Paris Fashion Week.

He was demanding more of the opening soundtrack of birdsong for the finale, when – to thunderous applause – willowy models, instead of withdrawing in the usual manner, sat down and posed in a series of painterly tableaux on a woodland carpet. It was a fitting end to a light and fluid line-up of dresses and layered combinations of printed silks, notably dark horizontal stripes, used extensively throughout the collection.

Tunics and sleeveless jackets worn over diaphanous dresses had the elegance and ease of traditional Indian dress, but were cool and modern in spirit.

Van Noten’s artful mix of colour, pattern and texture let individual shapes speak for themselves. A palette of rich brocades, dense embroideries and natural cottons created languid summer looks, from denims with glitter turn-ups to colourful striped vests, and embellished T-shirts topping flyaway skirts and striped pyjama pants.

Flourishes

Earlier in the day, the sole Chinese designer on the official schedule, Yang Li, mixed tailoring with tulle, using the light fabric for flourishes, sometimes erratically tacked on to the back of a jacket, peeping out from under a skirt or in a swoosh down the side of a dress. He was at his best when unnecessary detail was absent, like a simple black silk trenchcoat or a strapless dress with shapely front pleating.

With more than 90 shows on the official calendar, sure signs that fashion week has begun are the crowds loitering inside and outside cult boutique Colette, on the Rue St Honore, where T-shirts cost €290, Dr Dre headphones €600 and faux fur gilets (a key winter trend) €1,560.

The week will be marked by Jean Paul Gaultier’s last ready-to-wear show after 38 years and JW Anderson’s debut as creative director of the Spanish leather goods house Loewe.