In the theater of fashion, every catwalk show is a ten-minute play.
British designer John Galliano staged an electrifying performance on Saturday, turning the inside of an old market hall into a faded mansion where an aristocratic older woman and her toy-boy husband greeted strange and extraordinary guests.
To the strains of accordion music, characters like a sailor and a bearded groundskeeper with two Labrador dogs mingled with celebrities including pop diva Kylie Minogue, amid banquet tables and Persian carpets littered with playing cards and straw.
"It's quite decadent. We are very open-minded," joked Marc de Lacharriere, a high-powered French executive who was playing host for the evening.
Galliano, who is famed for his over-the-top catwalk displays, drew criticism from fashion editors last season when he attempted a more straightforward presentation. With this extravagant show, he appeared to send his bosses a clear message: "Don't fence me in."
But he also made sure the theatrical setting did not overshadow the clothes, which ranged from his trademark bias-cut satin gowns to Empire-line cropped coats with leg-o'-mutton sleeves and bustle backs.
Models with wet-look bobs and smudged makeup flashed saucy garter belts under transparent black negliges. Model-of-the-moment Agyness Deyn vamped it up in a wine-colored bustier dress whose layers were worked into oversized whorls.
Galliano took his bow in a silk dressing gown to rapturous applause.
Jean Paul Gaultier chose a real-life theater for his show for Hermes on Saturday, sending out elegant biker chicks in jackets made from crocodile leather lined with shaved mink and trimmed with sable fur.
"I think it's perfectly appropriate for Hermes, because women last century were on horses and now they are riding motorbikes," the French designer said, referring to the company's saddlemaker roots.
Slim riding pants were tucked into knee-length boots and topped with floor-sweeping coats that gave the models a swaggering allure.
Hermes offered plenty of new variations on its coveted Kelly handbags, including a fur-lined version that did double duty as a muff. The wealth of luxurious details made some guests wish they had brought binoculars to appreciate them up close.
British designer Alexander McQueen went one step further, using a rock concert venue to show a collection inspired by his ancestor Elizabeth How, who was hanged at the Salem with trials in 1692.
Models walked the length of a red pentagram traced in black sand under an inverted pyramid that served as a screen for macabre video images including swarming bees, naked women and a Satan-like figure whose face melted in flames.
The sinister staging, coupled with the distance of the models, all but overshadowed outfits including pod-shaped coats with leather leggings, a gold sequin catsuit with a solid gold breastplate and a floorlength green velvet dress embroidered with gold flames.
The mood was altogether more joyous at Kenzo, where 14 dancers from the Paris Opera took to the floor with life-sized rag dolls to strut a spirited tango.
Rippling skirts with giant rose prints and poncho-style capes in tartan prints punctuated the Argentine-flavored display. Sardinian designer Antonio Marras said the elaborate staging was designed for maximum visual impact.
"It's very important, because these ten minutes are the culmination of six months' work," he told reporters. "I have the duty of communicating a very precise message."
Anticipation was high at Chloe, where Swedish designer Paulo Melim Andersson was making his debut, but the only spectacle was the arrival of Australian pop diva Kylie Minogue, the first major celebrity sighted since the start of Paris fashion week.
Andersson succeeds Phoebe Philo, who cemented the French label's reputation for subtle femininity. His freshman effort suggested no dramatic shift.
"I'm inspired by a woman who is the opposite of drama, a woman who is effortless and uncontrived," he said in a statement.
Models paraded in breezy sack dresses with loose pleats or diagonal zips, mostly in black and a tangy shade that was amusingly dubbed "BBC Regency drama lipstick orange." Bold abstract prints owed a clear debt to Italian label Marni, his previous employer.
But a white tunic embroidered with silver and white sequined circles was vintage Chloe, and the oversized Elvire bag in lacquered ostrich leather should quickly generate a waiting list.
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