Paris Fashion Week: Fairy Tales and Square Shoulders

Paris Fashion Week is in full swing. The Autumn/Winter 2009 shows began Wednesday, and so far the catwalks have been on fire.

On Saturday, Jean-Paul Gaultier was all about exposure, buckles, boots and bondage, and ended with a staged mud-wrestling catfight. Women's Wear Daily described the Comme des Garçons collection, also shown on Saturday, as a "Surrealist fairy tale." Karl Lagerfeld, whose all-white Chanel show in February was an absolute blockbuster, played with one of this year's major themes, the 1980s, in his show on Sunday. Strong square shoulders, fur and embroidery were all over.

A model presents a creation by Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garcons

A model in Emmanuel Ungaro

A model in a striking creation by Junya Watanabe

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On Friday the much anticipated Christian Dior show took place at the Tuileries Gardens. Despite the current economic woes, Dior is pushing luxury more than ever, and designer John Galliano put on an extravagant show, filled with Asian and Middle Eastern-influenced pantsuits, separates, and bold yet ephemeral dresses (pictured above left). In the audience: LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault, and actresses Eva Green and Charlize Theron. The Yohji Yamamoto show emphasized simplicity and clean lines.

On Thursday at Balenciaga, where the actress Salma Hayek and her new husband, French billionaire François-Henri Pinault, sat in the front row, the models strutted down the runway in a mix of black and vibrant pastels. At Balmain (pictured above right), designer Christophe Decarnin brought back the 80s with diamante and sequins, harem pants, and disco music at the Ritz Hotel.

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