Campbell, Slimane in Paris Fashion Week

PARIS, France – Naomi Campbell drew cheers on the catwalk at Paris Fashion Week on Sunday when the 43-year-old supermodel opened the first haute couture show of the season for Versace in a sparkling black micro sequin jacket.

Constructed using hook and eyes to hold the jacket together, the fastenings were “left undone in places giving the impression of being undressed,” the house said, adding that each hook was held in place with Swarovski crystals.

Using sequins, crystals, embroidery and beading in a palette of black, deep emerald, ruby red and sapphire blue, Donatella Versace’s autumn 2013/winter 2014 couture collection wallowed in a sense of unashamed luxury.

In some looks, the shape of the body was emphasized through exposed midriffs or transparent side panels down the shoulder, arm and leg.

Campbell closed the show with another enthusiastically received turn, this time in a body suit embroidered with black crystals and a woven mink fur, chiffon and silk tulle cardigan.

Hedi Slimane’s ‘rocker cool’ closes Paris menswear 

Hedi Slimane’s much anticipated second menswear collection for Saint Laurent wrapped up the men’s shows with “rocker cool” replacing the grunge feel of his debut.

Industry watchers had been keen to see if he would stick with the look he chose for his first menswear collection for the brand, which also infused his second women’s collection.

Credited with revolutionizing menswear during his stint at Dior from 2000 to 2007, Slimane is famed for teaming jackets cut short with narrow trousers in a “skinny” style copied by mass-market designers worldwide and even adopted by the rock world.

Stars Mick Jagger and Pete Doherty went on stage in Dior Homme, and even legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld shed 45 kilos (99 pounds) to be able to slide into a Slimane suit.

In early reaction on Twitter, GQ Fashion lavished praise on the French designer.

“Hedi Slimane does it again! Saint Laurent redefines rocker cool for SS (Saint Laurent),” it said.

Other looks on the catwalk included red leather trousers teamed with a blue and white striped t-shirt and a sparkling “rock star” jacket.

Elsewhere there were parka coats, biker jackets and, of course, skinny jeans.

Hero Magazine added on Twitter: “Sequinned vampire lips jacket at Saint Laurent. So much spirit, another banging collection.”

Lanvin and men’s shorts

Earlier in the day, Lanvin creative director Alber Elbaz and his menswear designer Lucas Ossendrijver explored the tricky issue of shorts.

As the industry grapples with how to deal with formal and informal wear, they teamed short shorts with tailored or casual jackets, blouses and shirts worn with narrow neckties.

Seen by some as nothing more than underwear, short shorts — requiring good legs and a degree of sartorial bravery — were also much in evidence on the men’s catwalks in Milan earlier in June.

“The 3 rules with shorts are that they must be tailored, not remotely creased and cut a few inches above the knee,” Esquire magazine recently told its readers, without proffering any advice on the shorter variety.

Also standing out at the show at Paris’ National School of Fine Arts were button-up shirts, trenches in cerise and midnight blue and soft, sleeveless blouses and tapered trousers.

Industry journal WWD reacted positively, admiring the “sumptuous, often feminine fabrics and a luscious palette.” The website nowfashion.com called the collection “stimulating if slightly schizophrenic in its execution.”

“Elegant in the extreme,” added British GQ on Twitter, while UK heritage brand dAPPER England commented: “Shorts with blazers!! And socks.”

Lanvin’s short shorts came a day after Kris Van Assche’s show for Dior Homme also explored how to wear shorts.

The shorts suit — aimed at providing flexibility “from beach to boardroom” — dominated the Belgian designer’s collection.

Van Assche went for longer, tailored shorts, however, summing the look up as “tuxedos meeting sportswear.”

Mens fashion now gives way to 4 days of couture shows which begin in earnest on Monday with the collection of the season — Christian Lacroix’s come-back tribute to the late Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli.

Lacroix was feted by fashion editors in the 1990s after he created the first couture house to open in a quarter century in 1987. But he lost it in December 2009 after the downturn in the luxury market left it millions of dollars in debt.

In his first collection in 4 years, Lacroix will present 18 reinterpretations of Schiaparelli designs for the relaunched fashion house. – Rappler.com