Ka-pow! Boom! Zap! Bang! John Galliano's couture show for Christian Dior last night was a veritable exclamation mark of comic-book characters. Wonder Woman, Spider Girl, Miss America, Catwoman, Firestar and Poison Ivy (who met her Nemesis in Batman) were his heroines for his spring collection.
The show opened with sexy secretaries in stretch jackets, black girdles, suspenders and a prim pair of spectacles, followed by tipsy nuns in large tulle maternity dresses hand-painted with party cakes and cocktail glasses. Then suddenly a flash of lightning, a blast of gunpowder and out came Wonder Woman.
Galliano was in a teasing mood. He picked up themes that first appeared in his ready-to-wear collection last autumn, such as the customised jeans jacket, bearing the stars and stripes and tattered chiffon skirt for Wonder Woman, a "trailer trash" look in white lace for Super Girl and suede Sioux Indian trousers decorated with sequinned flames for Firestar.
The range of inspiration was mind-boggling in its breadth and confusing in its themes, but the detail (embroideries, print and beading) was as intricate and complex as a couture client would expect from Dior, once they had unravelled the complicated styling.
Lovely draped satin and silk chiffon dresses worn with embroidered suede coats might have stepped right out of a western, but strip off the accessories and they would look very elegant under the Manhattan skyline.
Valentino's suits, however, would have stepped straight off the catwalk and right on to the backs of his customers without removing a feathered head dress or perspex warrior shield.
The Italian couturier showed snug-fitting suits that picked up on this summer's hot trend for suits with uniform detailing: beaded mandarin collars, patch pockets, buckle-fastening and belts.
A white wool suit with mandarin tie collar and pearl embroidery typified his look. Valentino is pragmatic. He knows his customers like the elegance, efficiency and comfort of a well-cut suit for charity lunches, and lace cocktail dresses with big blowsy corsages for After Six.
Chic and femininity are ideals writ large in Valentino's work, whether it is the chic look of a two-piece suit, or the prettiness of an orange-and-pink floral chiffon dress with the top knotted between the shoulder blades.
Although Valentino's usual front row of Hollywood stars were otherwise occupied at the Golden Globes, there was no shortage of glamorous Oscar dresses for them to choose from. A simple red sheath dress with dramatic crossover detailing at the back is just the sort of thing to wear going up to the podium.