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Chanel transported 30 tons of ice from Sweden for his Paris Fashion Week show. Fancy knit sweaters glinted with beadwork, like icicles. Angora sweater-dresses shone icily in an Arctic palette of white and powder blue.
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On the catwalk, practically every model sported some element of fur. Fake fur formed the fox trim on wool suits and classic Chanel beige and brown shoes, as wolf handbags or completely covering rugged boots.
"The whole thing was fake, every bit of fur. But that seems right for the times," explained Lagerfeld.
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Fur panels dressed up the hemlines of the classic Chanel skirtsuits and the label's blockbuster chain-strapped handbags, and the Chewbacca trousers were paired with little tweed jackets.
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The red carpet king had his eyes on the prize with this collection of awards-ceremony looks in antique lace, sequins and ruched chiffon.
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Saab gave his fans in Hollywood plenty to choose from: asymmetrical column gowns with flared trains in buff tulle and black lace; sheath dresses with geometrical cut-outs in glinting jewel-tone sequins; and draped goddess gowns in bands of ruched silk.
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This nocturnal forest-themed collection broke little new ground for the designer, who has long been churning out heavily embellished red carpet gowns and elaborate evening wear.
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The Paris luxury house sent out leather-heavy looks: trench coats in supple leather, croc-skin trousers and microfibre parkas with crocodile epaulettes.
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Little leather skirts were worn with menswear blazers and peacoats with extra-wide crocodile belts. Bowler hats topped off all the looks, and the other accessories — monocle necklaces and extra-long umbrellas — looked as if they'd been swiped from wardrobe of an old-school London dandy.
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French designer Jean Paul Gaultier said the collection was "very English, inspired by The City, bankers clothes revamped for the women who work there" and by that timeless symbol of British elegance, James Bond.
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Models for Louis Vuitton rocked sober, ladylike skirts, supple wools and subtle prints. The look was inspired by 1940s fashion: skirt-suits with nipped waists, full skirts and tight halter-tops.
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The girls at Vuitton were the picture of refined elegance, strolling leisurely around a fountain in the middle of the set.
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Marc Jacobs said the influences were the likes of Doris Day, Brigitte Bardot and Sophia Loren – the classic silver screen heroines. Nearly every model wore leather gloves, and most of them carried bags.
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The designer of Valentino delivered light cocktail dresses and cropped, ruffle-covered variations on the classic trench coat that managed to look modern but were at the same time infused with the house's hallmark romantic spirit.
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The white dresses that opened the show were at once easy to wear and flirty, with scalloped, multi-tiered skirts. Cropped trenches burst with fabric rosebuds.
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Valentino's long-time partner, Giancarlo Giametti, said: "The clothes are very modern, light, fresh, fragile and feminine like Valentino likes."
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Designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren played the role of dressers, though not backstage but on the catwalk with the models. As each new model appeared, the duo would take one layer off veteran model Kristen McMenamy, and put it on the newcomer. Many garments, once taken off the queen figure, were turned inside out before being put on another model, showing the practicality of the collection.
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The action opened with appearing in ten layers of clothing, a five-foot wide silhouette, looking like she weighed 300 pounds and covered in a dramatic dark fox collar over a boucle wool coat.
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For fall, Viktor & Rolf see women in knitted leotards, slinky leather parkas and trench coats in large pattern plaids. Everything has little bits of hardware attached – high-tech buckles on coats, metal studs on cat-suits and lines of studs on mannish white shirts.
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Targeted at women in powerful positions, this collection favours strictly cut black wool jackets and curvaceous to-the-knee skirts.
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The designer played around with the shoulders of most looks, adding miniature capes to some jackets, or plastic protection to others. The bursts of colour in the evening wear included crimson pink, violet and emerald.
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While elegant and frequently striking, the collection did seem a big step for YSL, as the founder was more known for his seductive clothing, rather than dress for success fashion.
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John Galliano, the Christian Dior creative director, is veritably consistent. In January, he presented a
Dior haute couture collection with a rich equestrian theme. This collection rode off on the same track, but took in pit stops with some elegant daywear and a delightful boudoir moment.
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A shiver of nocturnal misbehaviour ran through this collection, many of whose looks featured garters, lacy stockings, ruffled blouses and negligee dresses so transparent that the chic Dior underwear could be seen underneath.
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"This season Dior takes up the heroic spirit of French romanticism and Mr. Dior's beloved English riding tweeds," Galliano explained. "I was inspired by the drape, line and cut as well as the characters of the era. I wanted to create a new luxury, and new lover, in the romance of the seductive libertine of Dior."
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