Paris Fashion Week, Day Nine

Kate Moss returned to the catwalk for one time in Paris, at Louis Vuitton. Her black outfit, a short jacket with floral leather appliqués and furry sleeves, big woollen panties and laced up boots encapsulated the fetish touch that ran through the whole show. Marc Jacobs staged a sumptuous, dark, and sexual collection for autumn/winter with models wearing porter’s hats, playful and in different fabrics, as if they were assuming full power over the male liftboys standing by. It made quite a statement for the boy/girl game, leaving no doubt who is wearing the pants in this one.

Miu Miu came across a bit more demure, with hints of 1940s housewife, as in high-waisted dresses, playing the hemline around the knee. But then again, this girly look was balanced with square cut coatdresses, defining the shoulder line in a slight bell shape to give the clean and modern silhouette an unexpected twist.

In terms of set design, Chanel was at its most spectacular, transforming the Grand Palais into some kind of volcanic island with fuming black lava framing the catwalk, which must have become solid only a few minutes before the start of the show. The clothes felt quite masculine, a lot of trousers, wide-legged and straight, or fitted and tight, which will make the Chanel woman quite a tomboy for next winter.

Quite the opposite was the case at Alexander McQueen. Designer Sarah Burton composed the looks around a tight waist, exaggerating the hourglass shape of the female body in the white opening looks by attaching some furry volume to waist and shoulders. There were also fetish moments, body cages, studded leather gloves, boots laced like a corset on platforms were set against princess-y tulle dresses, the perfect outfit for the mean Ice Queen from Alice in Wonderland.

Text by George Ghon