As Paris fashion week drew to a close yesterday, the hottest ticket in town was for Lanvin, where the modest Alber Elbaz has revived the reputation of one of the great French couture houses, writes Deirdre McQuillan, Fashion Editor, in Paris
A black shirtwaister dress was the first item in an understated collection whose strength lay in subtle cutting, underpinning and detail. A shapely black shift curved to the very form of the body through discreet seaming. Suit jackets and inky satin dresses were closed with obi or wide patent belts that emphasised the new silhouette. The collection had the deceptive simplicity of great couture.
On Saturday night, Alexander McQueen may have had another Alexander in mind when he dispatched an army of models draped in long Grecian gowns, knee-high gladiator sandals and shining breastplates down the catwalk. These goddess dresses decked with capes and lavish crystal embroideries were counterpointed by a clutch of sombre but sexy black suits worn with black tights and stilettos. Perfect attire for mean city streets, but do modern women really want to wear skintight dresses bandaged like Versace's '90s bondage gear? The real suits of armour in this show were low key, a flared black coat of impeccable cut, a swinging wave print skirt with tiny accordion pleats.
Phoebe Philo at Chloe has recently become a mother and the tent-like shapes in her collection may have sprung from a softer, more maternal mood. Virginal white smocks with pin-tucked sleeves, Moroccan djellabas and lace bib fronts were typical of her approach, which made great play of appliqué and white on white embroidery. Delicate frocks in cutwork lace or decorated with silk crochet flowers were fresh and appealing. Philo is in full control of what she does, can bring the volume up or down and a narrow black cotton canvas coat was gently bustled at the back. It was a lovely collection from a confident and mature hand.
The Hermes customer prefers the shade rather than the limelight and it shows in the languid, laid-back luxury of the clothes. Jean-Paul Gaultier keeps the reins tight at this venerable old French house, sending out everything from a smart linen shirtwaister cinched with silk and a slim leather belt to a romantic dress of fine green lace over an underdress of tangerine silk. Mini-Birkins, a tribute to the actress in the front row, reworked the familiar icon. Lace fans and umbrellas in spicy Moroccan shades were cute accessories.
At the YSL show in the Grand Palais, two items summed up the mood of Stefano Pilati's third collection and the subtle mix of masculine and feminine tailoring that has characterised many of the collections this week. A lean, black toreador suit, square-shouldered, skinny-trousered and bobble-trimmed, strode out behind a puff-sleeved black chiffon dress with a high ruff collar.
Two great emblems of 20th century dressing, the little black dress and the mannish suit, one giving women freedom, the other power, seemed an appropriate end to a week celebrating the 40th anniversary of Yves St-Laurent's first tuxedos for women.