PARIS – Kanye West swapped the newly-blond Kim Kardashian for a brunette at Dior Friday, stunning some photographers into thinking momentarily that his wife had dyed her hair back to its natural colour.
The mystery woman was none other than Lorde, the 18-year-old Kiwi singing sensation, who joined the rapper on the front row of the Louvre show.
The unlikely couple joined Fifty Shades Of Grey actress Dakota Johnson who rocked a black Dior pantsuit.
Here are the highlights of Friday’s ready-to-wear fall-winter 2015 shows in Paris, including show reports for Issey Miyake and Dior:
DIOR LETS OUT ITS INNER ANIMAL
Raf Simons declared the signature garden of Monsieur Dior (with its flower musings) officially off-bounds this season, in a bold new collection that let out the house’s inner roar. They called it “Femme Animale.”
Stylish thigh-high reptilian vinyl boots in tropical colours filed by alongside knee-length skirts ripped as if by a big cat’s claw.
Slashed patchwork-colored fox fur coats in lilac and aqua prowled chicly by, meanwhile, alongside patent leather tops and skirts that glistened dangerously like snake skin.
It unleashed a more kinky side to the normally tame brand. “I wanted the collection to deal with… something more liberated, darker and more sexual,” said Simons.
That he achieved, and then some. Flashes of vivid tropical colour in patches and lines could sometimes be read as: Approach with caution, this Dior woman could bite.
Simons also used this new-found fierceness to explore menswear looks – like an enviable double-breasted dark green wool pant suit, or a beautifully snug oversize coat in tea green.
The fauna was a welcome break from the flora.
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ISSEY MIYAKE’S SUSPENSION
Franco-Japanese house Issey Miyake drew guests into a world of suspended gravity for a colour-rich collection showcasing their mastery of techno-fabrics.
The runway, glistening black, resembled liquid oil on which the smiling models walked by, as the live singer Chiyako sang out long, haunting harmonies that echoed around the room.
The beautiful clothes themselves – often voluminous pieces of draped material in abstract wrapped bands – bounced and continued the feeling of suspension.
The textured fabric, made of tiny 3-D creases, owed its bounce to steam that was blasted onto pre-woven creased fabric in the clothes production, producing infinite tiny little tectonic mountains.
The colours cyan, magenta and yellow produced an interesting colour palette across triptych silhouettes of shawl, top and skirt.
The suspension reached its climax at a series of Origami-like silhouettes in blue that ruffled kinetically in blues, purples, reds and ochers across pants, knee-length coats and dresses.
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GIVENCHY OPENS FLAGSHIP STORE IN PARIS’ MARAIS
Givenchy is opening a flagship menswear store in the trendy Marais district of Paris this week that the 40-year-old couturier Riccardo Tisci personally conceived.
The slick 5,000-square-foot area, which spans two floors, is a sign of the brand’s new buoyancy after the Italian-born designer took over the age-old Parisian house in 2009. He revitalized its look with his gothic and sports styles, especially in menswear, which now accounts for 50 per cent of Givenchy’s revenues.
As a resident in the Marais it’s an area close to Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci’s heart – and as a historic home to Jews, foreigners, gays and artists – an appropriate place for the house’s eclectic cultural fusion.
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