lifestyle MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014

Fashion PARIS FASHION: Gaultier takes Rihanna into space

he host of an eccentric Jean Paul Gaultier show Fashion sacrilege promised guests a trip into outer space with catwalk British fashion icon Vivienne Westwood looked to her Tattendee Rihanna at Paris Fashion Week. Though inner Christian and hosted her fall-winter show in a func- guests’ hopes were eventually dashed when the superstar tioning church. Was Westwood trying to launch her own left on foot through the emergency exit, this was surely denomination by branding the altar with a huge dazzling the highlight of Saturday’s ready-to-wear shows. “W”? Incense wafted through the strobe lights up to the But Vivienne Westwood, who hosted hers in an incense- gothic windows, and several guests were tucked away filled church, came a close second. Here are details from behind pews looking almost ready for mass. One guest the day of fall-winter collections. commented: “Front row will be last, and last row will be first.” The united colors of fashion From older, silver-haired model Catherine Loewe to chil- Vivienne Westwood mixes couture and tribal dren who also trod his catwalk, fashion egalitarian Jean An Encyclopedia Britannica should be standard issue Paul Gaultier clearly likes to represent all colors of the rain- with any Westwood show. Fall-winter was no exception, bow. Just take the show’s front row: Singer Rihanna seeing the eccentric British designer mix up Peruvian eth- applauded with a black and white Gaultier fur wrap along- nic face paints, jewelry and robes with the style of Charles side plus-size Beth Ditto, the singer from band Gossip. It Worth, the 19th century British fashion genius and founder was reassuring in an industry that showcases mainly thin of haute couture. Mad blond afros merged into wide and young white girls. “The casting was amazing to do like brimmed black-feathered hats, while Pervurian prints on that, having people very different to one another,” said long dresses were proceeded by a series of stylish-looking Gaultier, after the show. Scottish tartans. The signature Regency blazer and peaked “They’re different types of beauty,” he added. Ditto, shoulder cropped up, but it was the Worth-inspired cou- meanwhile, said. “I enjoy the fashion industry more than ture that stole the day. the music industry, as there are more eccentrics. Gaultier comes from the heart. It’s body beautiful, just like this is,” Viktor & Rolf get their groove back she said, and the star did a body roll. The show was based on abstract interpretations of the gray knit V-neck sweater. If that sounds like an uninspiring Jean Paul Gaultier gets lost in space muse, somehow in the hands of Dutch design duo Viktor & Jean Paul Gaultier needs to take his foot off the warp Rolf it became thought-provoking poetry. Huge curved drive. In terms of spectacle, the credentials of the galactic metal lampposts lined the catwalk, and the show played fall-winter show cannot be denied, inside an Oscar on trompe l’oeil artworks referencing blown-up knit cables. Niemeyer futurist building, with Star-Trek-style automatic Some of the visual tricks, like a 2-D printed bow that doors. Then there was the host, who asked guests to fasten played on dimensionality, were too heavy handed. But the seatbelts and promised an interstellar vacation with musings with wool were fun, featuring it in patches on a Rihanna. Who could ask for more? great striped coat, or elsewhere mimicking fur. After sever- But mixing space age with the Union Jack? The iconic al disappointing seasons, Viktor & Rolf clearly have gained French couturier left people confounded in a show which creative momentum from the recent relaunch of their cou- did produce some beautiful looks. In the space-age first ture designs. — AP half, with models sporting vertical bobs like antennae, there was some cool piping-styles and a great pair of sheer green PVC pants. Then came a punk section, several infant models with a mother, and a grand finale that produced Rihanna arrives for the some fairly unoriginal but fastidiously executed garments Jean Paul Gaultier ready- featuring the British flag. It felt a little lost in space. to-wear fall/winter 2014- 2015 fashion collection.

Models present creations by Jean Paul Gaultier during the 2014/2015 Autumn/Winter ready-to-wear collection fashion show, on March 1, 2014 in Paris. — AP/ AFP photos