From Antiquity to Zebra, here is an A to Z of highlights and trends for spring/summer 2011, seen at Paris Fashion Week which wrapped up on Wednesday.
Antiquity
Flat sandals and draped silk toga dresses spirited Lanvin to antique Rome, Issey Miyake also had knitted toga dresses and Alexander McQueen a majestic, simple dress in pleated white with a gold belt under the chest.
Birthdays
Kenzo rang in its 40th birthday with a magical circus show, and VIPs donned masks at a society ball to blow out 90 candles for French Vogue.
Eco-Minded
Dresses were adorned with wheat and pheasant feathers at McQueen, Vivienne Westwood had a "buy less, buy better" mantra and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac quoted the caring-for-the-planet message of the "Little Prince".
Fish-Net Tights
Seen at Emanuel Ungaro and Alexis Mabille and out of context at Jean Paul Gaultier — as a bustier over a white blouse or above the designer’s trademark powder-pink corset.
Glasses
There were lollipop-colored, 1950s pin-up shades at Christan Dior, space-age visors at Pierre Cardin, and a whole top pieced together from retro sunglasses at Jean-Charles de Castelbajac.
Hemlines
Right on the knee for skirts, like at Valentino or Celine, sometimes lower at mid-calf or ankle length. Evening gowns swished and swept the floor.
Ivory
Designer after designer opened their shows with white.
Karlie Kloss
Sexy sailor for Dior, big-haired at a 1970s Sonia Rykiel or in 3-D prints at Gaultier, the US model headlined some of the week’s most sought-after shows.
Mini-Shorts
Sparkly silver under floaty see-through tops and petticoats, in knitted stripes or paired with sharp tailored jackets, mini-shorts were a big theme — and nowhere more risque than at Chanel.
Nineteen-Twenties
Gypsy shawls, feathers, fish-net, fur collars, crystal earrings and slicked back hair: the 1920s were in the air from John Galliano to Ungaro.
Orange
From Yves Saint Laurent to Kenzo, Lanvin or Dries Van Noten, paired with pink or on its own, orange was the colour of the season.
Ostrich Feathers
Adorned a giant red-and-black headdress, puffed out jackets, spiced up hemlines — or clothed a model head to toe at Chanel, in a coral dress that swept caressingly around the legs.
Pleats
Swishing and dramatic at Lanvin, in an ivory dress at Chanel, at Jean Paul Gaultier, or in a clever dress that bounced up and down at the master of pleats Issey Mikaye.
Rock and Roll
A punky, rocker’s spirit shook up the runways at Balenciaga and Balmain while Yohji Yamamoto paid tribute to Jimi Hendrix and Gaultier invited Gossip frontwoman Beth Ditto to open his show.
Shirts
Dutch duo Viktor and Rolf took a city shirt as the start point for their whole, playful collection, while mannish shirts set the tone at Dries Van Noten.
Veteran Models
Chanel, Emanuel Ungaro, Balenciaga, Galliano: designers made space on the runways for veteran models, plus-sizes or street-casted unknowns, alongside waif-like regulars.
Wings
An orange dress was entirely made from butterflies at McQueen, while Giles Deacon at Ungaro had giant flower-covered butterflies propped atop a garden-party decor.
XMAS
Economic hard times may soon be behind us, but gifts and freebies — usually a Fashion Week staple — were in short supply, at best a make-up kit at Chanel, or a fancy tea-saucer at Shiatzy Chen.
Yves Saint Laurent
Fashionistas saw tributes to the master everywhere — from jumpsuits to reworked tuxedos at Felipe Oliveira Baptista or Chloe, where deep blue and emerald stripes also conjured Saint Laurent’s Moroccan period.
Zebras
Louis Vuitton had zebra stripes of red and black or navy and turquoise, Castelbajac a full-length zebra-motif knit dress, and Sonia Rykiel’s look was a riot of stripes, including on a line of pin-up knitted underwear.
Sarah Burton’s butterfly dress for the Spring/Summer 2011 collection evokes Alexander McQueen’s imaginative genius, reassuring the fashion world that McQueen’s brand will continue to live on after his death. (AFP Photo/Francois Guillot)
