>> Marc Jacobs's signature collection started a minute early, and Louis Vuitton started just seven minutes late — which according to the way most fashion shows run, is still early, causing loads of people to miss the beginning — Suzy Menkes climbed over the runway after the first model walked out — and many to be locked out. Lucky for them, the show was staged in a clear tent in a Louvre courtyard, so late editors and passersby could watch the show.
Bunny ears topped heads — show stylist Katie Grand was inspired by "a black doe rabbit in the pet shop on the corner" — necklaces were modeled after paper garlands, ruching was everywhere, and Rose Cordero finally made a Paris runway appearance. Marc Jacobs said he was inspired by "all the great, elegant Parisian women, like Loulou de la Falaise," and the LVMH-Gareth Pugh connection continues: Pugh sat front row, two seats away from Bernard Arnault, still denying the Dior Homme rumors.
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>> INSIDER WIRE —Recession schmecession. Cathy Horyn has a list of some of her Fall 2009 Paris favorites, along with their prices — those thigh-high Stella McCartney boots, for instance, will run $1,145-$1,635. As for the opening beaded tops that were paired with draped satin skirts at Balenciaga? The long-sleeve versions will be . . . wait for it . . . $50,000. And they say Balmain is pricey. [On the Runway]
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>> John Galliano took his audience to a Winter wonderland — literally, there was no heating, wind swept through the show space, a fog crept over, and snow fell — and it was beautiful. Not everything was perfect, however: the fake snow caused coughing fits in the front row, and photographers revolted beforehand, because they were left waiting outside for hours; but Galliano's take on Ukranian virgin brides, replete with tinkling coins, carved wood lace-up platform heels with pom poms attached, and heavy embroidery, dazzled. By contrast, the eveningwear was light — a standout gray fringe dress — and in lots of cases, almost nonexistent in sheer chiffon; Galliano seems to have a new thing for the bared tush, which appeared a few times here, like it did earlier in the week at Dior. Harvey Weinstein, who was front row, didn't mind: "It was fantastic, theatrical, brilliant."
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>> INSIDER WIRE — Gareth Pugh surprised editors and buyers alike last week when they showed up for his runway show and instead got a video presentation with Natasa Vojnovic marching and contorting in the clothes. Dazed Digital scored a behind-the-scenes video of the shoot, and got Pugh to explain his reasoning for the switch: "First and foremost was the fact I had just done this big menswear show in Paris four weeks before the women's show. At a time when everyone is worried about money, I didn't want to come over as being overly brash by doing two big shows." [Dazed Digital]
>> INSIDER WIRE —Frida Giannini made editors nauseous with her dizzying Gucci catwalk pattern back in Fall 2008, and at John Galliano this evening, it was a case of "toxic" fake snow that had editors gagging. It stung eyes and the chemical smell had Hamish Bowles, Grace Coddington, and Glenda Bailey, among others, covering their mouths and noses. What a travesty: Galliano gave "his packed front row a collective asthma attack." [The Moment Twitter]
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>> After Hannah MacGibbon's first Chloe collection, critics seemed ready to give her a bit more time to settle in at Chloe, as if they wanted her to succeed in the brand. And although she sent out a similarly pegged pants and muted colors in her Lauren Hutton-esque Fall 2009 collection, she's still getting encouragement — WWD noted that while MacGibbon is "still finding her way at Chloe," the collection "showed progress." Suzy Menkes was even more laudatory, hailing MacGibbon's coats as "some of the best outerwear in Paris," and writing that the designer made "a strong show that looked like she was taking the brand forward." Now, if she could just harness some of the excitement that surrounded the brand under other regimes . . .
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>> No one fainted this time around at Alexander McQueen, but the show could win this season's Prada award for torturous shoes — even over Nina Ricci. Numerous inches were added to the festishistic heels, and the girls took every step with care — some even broke their runway stare to glance down momentarily, and Sigrid Agren looked around like she's frightened of the next step. Karlie Kloss, below, had to stop and fix her dress to keep from tripping over it. Suzy Menkes was discomfited by the display: "the models were tortured into dresses that hobbled their feet, making each runway step treacherous and giving a discomforting misogynist feel to the show."
Meanwhile, this morning at Hermes, another painful scene: supermodel Tatjana Patitz seemed to be out of practice on the runway. She almost tripped and fell three times, including when she closed the show. When Jean Paul Gaultier came out for his bow, he gave her a hug, and apparently she looked like she was about to cry.
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>> While Valentino Garavani is preparing to tape an episode of The Martha Stewart Show to promote Valentino: The Last Emperor next week, his proteges Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli sent out their second try at his legacy this morning. Their first collection for the brand in January was deemed too close to the designer's own style — perhaps done out of fear of having the same fate as Alessandra Facchinetti — so for this second collection, they needed to move the brand forward.
Unfortunately, they seem to have earned more rave reviews for their choice of venue — the Galerie des Moulages, with open windows to the Eiffel Tower — than for the clothes. Los Angeles Times's Booth Moore deemed the collection the "same coat with fur trim a dozen different ways, yawn." Hilary Alexander thought "the clothes were just too much of a blast from the past," and Suzy Menkes was left wishing for Alessandra Facchinetti. Curiously, with all the archival inspiration, there was not a single "Valentino red" dress in the bunch.
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>> WWD warned that Alexander McQueen was planning a wild time for his show this evening, and were they ever on the money. Attendees entered to red lighting, smoke, and a runway with a huge trash heap in the middle, full of metallic pieces and salvaged props from McQueen shows of the past. The soundtrack, too, was a mash-up of past McQueen shows — all adding to the designer's inspiration, "reinvention"; it was no surprise when elements of past collections resurfaced on the runway, including a jeweled armor top from Spring 2000. The models had on Leigh Bowery clown-like red lips, skyscraping heels, and headpieces made of empty soda cans wrapped in black latex with umbrellas strapped to the top. But most importantly, amongst all the houndstooth and feathers, McQueen proved that in all the doom and gloom, fantasy still lives — to rapturous applause.
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>> INSIDER WIRE —First it was Fall 2009, then Spring 2010, and now it's being reported that Resort 2010 will be Phoebe Philo's first collection for Celine. Meanwhile, the house's Fall 2009 collection, done by an in-house design team, will be presented to editors next week. [