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PARIS - Geisha-like models in padded kimonos paraded out to the sound of a gong at John Galliano's show for Christian Dior today, as the British designer presented a Japan-inspired collection for the rich and famous.
Wearing large fans, lanterns and wooden branches in their hair, girls presented long evening dresses with origami-style pleated flowers blossoming at sleeves and shoulders.
The swash-buckling designer, who is known for his theatrical shows, sent out his models from behind a large rotating door into a lounge setting, with the catwalk zigzagging around the front row guests including Burlesque dancer Dita von Teese.
"I've always been a big fan of Galliano. I love the theatrics of what he does," said Teese, declining to comment on her recent split-up from her shock rocker husband Marilyn Manson. "I'm here to enjoy Paris fashion week."
Well-off haute couture clients applauded as thousands of paper butterflies rained onto models in orange kimono-style coats. One girl wore a red dress covered in sparkling flowers, with her decollete opening up like a flower blossom.
Haute couture outfits are made to measure and cost thousands of dollars, reducing the estimated number of clients to between 200 and 300 in the world.
"I can't afford it, unfortunately," German actress Diane Kruger told Reuters ahead of the Dior show. "But I've been able to borrow some pieces. It's very special. These dresses only exist once in the entire world."
Galliano's show came at a time when a weak yen is making financial analysts ask how long Japanese consumers will remain a driving force behind the boom in demand for luxury goods.
Haute couture is an expensive business for fashion houses and many labels have stopped the million-dollar seasonal shows.
But experts and clients say the shows serve a wider purpose than just selling extravagant dresses.
"It's what marks the 'extra'," said Sidney Toledano, chief executive of Christian Dior. "This is what defines the magic of the name Dior. It's the research, the handicraft, the excellence. It's not possible anywhere else."
Ivana Trump, the former wife of real estate mogul Donald Trump, said haute couture shows were a good marketing event for fashion houses' other products, such as handbags and perfumes.
"I think they're doing it to promote their cosmetic lines. It's not only about the clothes," she said at the show of Lebanese designer Elie Saab.
"It's inspiration. What you see in haute couture now, you will see in the ready-to-wear collections in a few months," Trump told Reuters.
Trump and well-off Middle Eastern clients watched as Saab sent out girls in strapless, sequined evening dresses.
"Haute Couture is the ultimate refinement," said Nayla Lati, member of a Beirut banking family who was at Saab's show.
"We might buy something for our children. There are a lot of women in our family ... Elie Saab is our best ambassador. He shows the imagination that many French designers have lost."
- REUTERS
