Sent directly from the opulent venues, taxis en route to the shows and after les defilés, SHOWstudio Editor in Chief Penny Martin captured the magic of the most outrageously imaginative and decadent of fashion weeks during the Paris Spring/Summer 2007 haute couture collections via instant cameraphone reportage
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Chanel by Benjamin Seroussi
Having seen Naomi Campbell model the dress from the finalé of the Chanel Couture show last week, we thought you might like to see the rest of the collection. Given our ticket shortage, we couldn't pass up Benjamin Seroussi's kind offer of a quick edit of the 'guerilla footage' he managed to capture when the security guards weren't looking... -
Maison Martin Margiela tutorial: Exclusive
Listen to Patrick Scallon take us through the February Men's Travel Jacket. -
Day III - Update
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Finale Film
The ecclesiastical music switched for the walk-through to -you guessed it- Madonna! Present only in spirit, however. Never mind: Posh Spice was there instead, no doubt hoping to mop up some of her reflected glory. I nearly photographed her for you, but I'm afraid the tats put me off and I just couldn't go through with it. -
The High Church of Jean Paul Gaultier
Capturing every moment of the haute couture collections for Spring/Summer 2007, SHOWstudio Editor in Chief Penny Martin uploaded video and picture updates live via mobile phone from her week at the Paris shows. Showcasing the talents of John Galliano for Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Lacroix and Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel - fashion's Formula One, no less - Martin's intimate off-the-cuff reportage gives an alternative view to the glossy, polished perfection of catwalk shot and magazine editorial.
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Good Lord!
Travelling back on the Eurostar and leafing through the new Paris Vogue, just spotted the latest fashion photographer to 'do a Juergen/Terry' and publish a nude self-portrait. The question is: who will be next after Mario?! -
On Boudicca's Shoulders
They started with quite an 80s silhouette, with pronounced Montana-like shoulders, but this softened as the -brief at 10 minutes- show went on, into this more curvaceous, almost Edwardian outline. -
Boudicca
Showing in the very chic Romanian embassy, Boudicca unveiled a very sharp and precise collection of trouser-suits and lace evening dresses. The fit was impeccable but in truth, it was hard to see the fabrics as it was very, very dark. -
Shawl Dress for May
The fabric is threaded through the beads to mould the shawl to the body. -
April and May at Margiela
Closest to us, you see the brilliant 'Oil Painting Dress', for which the house has washed three oil paintings to strip the canvas of its gesso, softened them and then pieced them together in this shift, carefully folding them to create a waist. Get a message to Cate: THIS is what she should wear! -
Maison Martin Margiela
Here you are seeing the scene after the Margiela presentation, where a photographer is shooting the models behind apertures in a curved hall of mirrors. In a kind of museological tour, a cropped section of a model's body emerged from the darkness to reveal one of 24 garments in turn; a men's and a woman's to represent a different month of the year. Meanwhile, a voiceover explained the origins and construction of each piece -in the foreground you see a trench made from 40 shopping bags- in three different languages. A brilliant idea that took me back to my museum days! -
Benjamin Seroussi
Risking life and limb for SHOWstudio apparently, Benjamin took a video camera into the Chanel show on Tuesday. He popped by the hotel bar last night to show me the results of his quick little edit. -
Armani Prive
Mmm, Cate looks interested in this one for her Babel acceptance speech. -
Armani Prive
This was Giorgio Armani's biggest collection at close to 70 'exits'. There was glitzy sparkle and lustrous fabrics galore, but most of all, it seemed, there were these spiral dresses with asymmetrical hemlines. -
On an Oscar Mission
From left: ex Bondgirl Rosamund Pike, Cate Blanchet -who was flown in on the Armani jet especially- the Armani niece, whose name is possibly Natalia (?) and of course, friend of Giorgio, Katie. All wearing Armani Prive, naturally. -
Armani
Yes, really: it's Katie Holmes! -
More masks...
This white lace dress came with an attached lace gimp mask: someone should tell Cantankerous! Such a great fit without being stretchy: brilliant. -
All halo Gaultier!
These amazing halos -each girl wore one (as seen with this 'bleeding heart dress') fashioned from metal, perspex, feathers and all manner of stuff- are going to be shot to pieces in the coming reason. I mean, who wouldn't look better for a little ray of light around the hairline? Now, which supermodel do we most see one on? How about Naomi... -
Dita's the bride (again)?
There were so many angels floating around that as the dresses became more complex, I kept thinking we were witnessing the bride, who is traditionally the final 'exit' in a Couture show. At around 65k each, wedding dresses are key to keeping the industry afloat as they comprise a good proportion of Couture sales. -
Unmasked!
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Golden Moment
Once the model wearing this solid gold number descended the staircase onto the runway, she slid open the 'doors' of her mask to reveal her face. -
Dita's Like a Virgin
Of course, the classic Gaultier trick is the visual pun: trompe L'Oeil, the trouser-dress or some such cheeky gag. In this afternoon's show, any jokes were played out in the staging, rather than the clothes themselves, which were as elegant and demure as the angels on which the collection's theme was based. This modest suit, for instance, was revved up in the sexy stakes by its model, Dita von Teese, whose appearance in a show about virgin Madonnas was a shrewd move, given her pending divorce to Marilyn Manson. -
Gaultier
On arrival, each guest is given a slip with a district of Paris printed on it in exchange for their invite. This is a clever rouse: nobody knows how good their seats are before they get in and so can't make a fuss at the door (London PR Mandi Lennard runs a system like this, only with coloured stickers). I have a hunch I know where the back row is- La Salette: that's what it says on my slip! -
Givenchy
Acres of chiffon, tulle and suede trailed in the muck to perfect the late 19th century silhouette -
Givenchy
After an initial section of tailoring- that looked a lot like Ready-to-Wear-
but then, I was a few rows from being able to see any perceptible detail, all Riccardo Tisci's attention turned to trains... -
I defy you not to like a polkadot
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Christian Lacroix
Lacroix does two sittings and my ticket was for the latter so I wasn't sure what to make of my friends text to 'expect a nu rave show'. At Lacroix? Really?! The palette was pretty fluro, yes, and there was a smattering of techno crystal, as seen in this waspie waister, but it wasn't awash with teen spirit, I wouldn't have said. -
Christian Lacroix
Oh, the romance! I'd been told to expect a carnation on my seat when I got here. Apparently, they are to throw at Christian Lacroix at the end of the show. The programme notes say this -40th- collection is about 'scent of a woman'. That's the one where Al Pacino shouts a lot, right? -
Crysanthemum Bride
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Calligraphy
'Tradition and refinement versus savagery' he said: samurai warriors, crysanthemums and flower arranging and contemporary art were the central themes of the (legendary) research books. -
Techno fabrics
Origami-like folding a key construction theme. -
Lessons in volume
Of course, judging by the get-up of most of the c60-year-old clients sitting on the lacquered, black seats in the audience, it won't be garments like this delightful, poufy sack dress with rope motifs that will be the big sellers in the coming weeks. But such items demonstrate that Galliano is capable of greater modernity and subtlety than has been found in his most recent Couture collections. -
Stephen Jones
Stephen Jones nearly stole the show with his fantastic hats! -
Hand-dye coordination
John (we're on first name terms since my visit last week...) described getting the diagonal graduation on the hand dying for this dress as like 'mathematics' when he showed me the research books from his preparatory research trip to Japan. -
Michael Howells sets the scene
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Christian Dior
It's quite a trek out here to the Dior venue in the Bois de Boulogne: a far cry from the central setting of the Tuilleries for the Ready-to-Wear. -
Couture Clients
One thing you can say about Couture: the demographic and attire of the audience is certainly different from Ready-to-Wear! -
Ivana Trump gives her response to press
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Elie Saab
Here comes the bride, concluding a collection of Roman toga-inspired draping and knife pleated sparkling tulle. In honesty, couldn't see much from the Gods and slightly distracted by all the plastic surgery on show in the audience!
Capturing every moment of the haute couture collections for Spring/Summer 2007, SHOWstudio Editor in Chief Penny Martin uploaded video and picture updates live via mobile phone from her week at the Paris shows. Showcasing the talents of John Galliano for Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Lacroix and Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel - fashion's Formula One, no less - Martin's intimate off-the-cuff reportage gives an alternative view to the glossy, polished perfection of catwalk shot and magazine editorial.