28 Established 1961 Thursday, January 25, 2018 Lifestyle Fashion

Brits Galliano

and Waightwow ParisKeller haute couture

ritish designers kicked up a storm yester- be perceived as a comment on the illusion of which brought French stars Marion Cotillard, day at Paris haute couture week with high- social media and the alternative reality a snap- Isabelle Huppert and German actress Diane Bly-praised shows from Givenchy’s Clare happy society can present to the world.” Galliano Kruger to the front row, were decidedly more Waight Keller and John Galliano at Maison knows all about being caught in the glare of the mixed, however. The veteran designer’s Margiela. Waight Keller made a flawless haute spotlight. Once fashion’s favorite extrovert, he has “evening shorts” and crystal leggings got short couture debut late Tuesday with critics swooning largely withdrawn from view since his disgrace, shift from some critics, as did another creation over her moonlit sonata in black and white. And embarking on a extended public penance. The which Friedman described as “paillette-covered Galliano, who showed his first Margiela men’s designer commissioned American artist Jessi bloomers”. The haute couture shows-which are collection last week since his fall from grace after Reaves to make the backdrop for his set, with unique to the French capital-are the creme de a drunken anti-Semitic rant in a Paris bar in 2011, many guests also sitting on his banks of decon- la creme of fashion with sometimes thousands gave his fans something to shout about on structed furniture-a nod to Galliano and of hours going into the handmade dresses that Wednesday morning. Margiela’s genius for recutting classics. can be afforded only by the richest women on Fashion critic Emma Hope Allwood of Dazed the planet. and Confused magazine said his eye-poppingly futurist new look, using shot fabric to catch the Alexis Mabille’s old-school glamour flashbulbs, was a triumph. “Actually almost crying The red carpet said it all: French designer at how good Margiela was,” she tweeted. “What Alexis Mabille turned on the glamour for a dis- a privilege to witness!” The former Dior supremo play of classic couture gowns. The styles were showed his clothes under ultra violet lights to firmly set to the 1950s - the years following the better display their shimmering fluorescence, with austerity of World War II that produced long silk and satin combined with Mylar. These were exuberant lengths of fabric, hyper-femininity dresses designed to literally light up the red car- and hourglass silhouettes. pet, with Galliano saying the idea is that they will A floor-length satin gown in coral sported a be “transformed by the flash of a camera to cre- giant floppy bow at the waist, while one in dark ate a new glamour.” cobalt saw an abbreviated take on a fifties London Evening Standard critic Emma jacket as a bustier and was paired with full McCarthy said the “effect, which could only be length evening gloves. Mabille didn’t forget to seen via the audience’s iPhone screens, and was have fun. A series of balloon gowns - with not visible to the naked eye on the catwalk, could curved hems gathered around inside - were the strongest pieces in the show. Each consecutive skirt sported an even bigger explosion of fab- ric, until the show reached a dramatic crescen- do in a circular bottle green gown that spread out from the bust. — AP/AFP

Ecstatic reaction Waight Keller, who quit Chloe in March, had an equally ecstatic reaction to her debut at Givenchy. The 47-year-old had never before tackled a haute couture collection-the hand- made pinnacle of the fashion pyramid. But hers was both a daring and crowd-pleasing first bow, with a run of highly romantic dresses, mostly in black and white, on a set which evoked a moonlit garden. The New York Times’ Vanessa Friedman called the show “dreamy”. “It was really good... a study in sophistication,” she tweeted, proclaiming one shimmering layered silvery creation as “definitely an Oscars dress”. The designer’s big innovation, however, was bringing men to the haute couture catwalk for the first time at Givenchy. Of the big labels, only Dolce & Gabbana has ever previously present- ed men’s haute couture. The rocky romanticism of Waight Keller’s male creations was a clear grab for a high-end market that is dominated by the bespoke tailors of Milan and London’s Saville Row. Waight Keller, who made her name by turning Pringle of Scotland from a rather staid knitwear maker into a fashion brand, had a lot to live up to.

Armani’s ‘bloomers’ Outgoing Italian creator Riccardo Tisci had transformed the brand long associated with Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy both financially and stylistically in his 12 years at the helm. His edgy, gothic look brought a long line of stars to the label like Beyonce, Madonna and Kanye West and his wife Kim Kardashian. Although he let the haute couture end drop in recent years, his T-shirts and a series of “It” Models present creations for Givenchy during the bags were big sellers. Models present creations by Margiela during the 2018 spring/summer Haute Couture collection Reactions to the Giorgio Armani Prive show, men’s Fashion Week for the Fall/Winter fashion show in Paris. — AFP photos 2018/2019 collection.