Gaultier recalls mythology in Paris haute couture show

PARIS - Greek goddesses and female knights descended on Jean-Paul Gaultier's catwalk on Friday, in a fall-winter haute couture collection where clothes transformed women into dark and disquieting heroines.

The French designer, famed for daring clothes like popstar Madonna's famous cone bustier, mixed muslin, satin and velvet with python leather, rooster feathers and red fox fur in a show held in a white-tiled ballroom at Gaultier's headquarters.

Models, with hair combed in the shape of a top hat, were named Medea, Cice, Pandora, Melusina or "Belle de Jour" - maybe a reference to the character in the Luis Bunuel movie played by Catherine Deneuve, who sat in the front row of the show.

"I thought it was wonderful. These are couture clothes, clothes that can totally be worn and others made to inspire dreams, to make people dream really," Deneuve told reporters.

A model named after Alcyone was dressed in black sequin trousers and black cock feather jacket with winged sleeves that gave the impression the model would fly away, like the Greek demi-goddess who threw herself into the sea after the death of her husband and was later transformed into a bird by the gods.

Gaultier's colours for next fall and winter will be dark - blacks, deep greens, greyish blues, burgundy reds, interspersed with a dramatic fuchsia sheath dress.

A black organza cocktail dress that could seem conventional at a first glance revealed a naughty plunging back decollete held up by spinal cord-looking strap, showing that the French designer still loves to mock the fashion establishment.

A sheath wedding gown, crowned with a sparkling candelabra holding a white veil, concluded the show with loud rounds of applause and cheers, under the watchful eye of Eric Labaume, president of the Jean-Paul Gaultier house.

"The restructuring of the brand is well advanced and going faster than initially expected. There is a sort of turbo effect thanks to these very good collections," Labaume told Reuters.

Accessories, increasingly targeted by luxury-hungry mortals who cannot afford haute couture outfits, are also helping turn around the Gaultier brand, Labaume said.

Gaultier is also 35 per cent owned by Hermes.

Far from Gaultier's hip crowd, the show of Elie Saab, the Lebanese fashion star, attracted Middle Eastern princesses and the Beirut high society who applauded stunning evening dresses mixing sequin and beads with satin and lace.

Black and deep blue gowns, their Empress Josephine tops with satin or spangle belts and plunging back views, offered just the kind of sexy-but-chic look that many Lebanese, and a growing list of Hollywood A-list stars, are looking for.

"Saab makes every lady feel like a film star. I feel so elegant and so special when I wear his dresses. I think he has become one of the best designers in the world," said Lebanese singer Julia Boutros.

Gaultier and Saab rounded off a three days of haute-couture shows in Paris.

- REUTERS