Lingerie is taking over the runways this season, so it's only natural that Jean Paul Gaultier would bring back the Madonna "Blonde Ambition"-era cone bra. (In London, young designer Louise Goldin had already brought it back for him.)
The winter 2010 haute couture shows are over ... so here's a final look -- at John Paul Gaultier, Valentino and Josep Font. Jenny Barchfield of the Associated Press reports:
"Jean Paul Gaultier [pictured at left] looked to vintage Hollywood for a solid collection that was equal parts Ava Gardner and Gaultier — the one-time enfant terrible of French fashion — himself.
"Things were looking up at Valentino. Its new design duo finally found their way out of the archive and forged a sexy new look for the mythic Italian label. Out went the ladylike day coats and tasteful A-line cocktail dresses in jewel-toned duchess silk; in came the second-skin bodice dresses in flesh-colored tulle and black lace; and up, way up, went the hemlines.
"For his fourth couture display, Spanish designer Josep Font continued to shore up his avant-garde credentials with a ravishing collection of think pieces."
It's hard to triangulate the big picture of any given fashion week after just a day of shows, but it would also have been hard to miss that two of today's big-name shows -- Louis Vuitton and Jean Paul Gaultier -- chose to focus on themes of race and power.
At Louis Vuitton, men's designer Paul Helbers said he was inspired by African royalty, explaining in the show notes that he began by envisioning "the traveling business wardrobe of an African king," which sounded like a recipe for cartoonish kufi and dapper dashikis. But thankfully, it was nothing of the sort.
The influence was subtle -- intricate patterns that looked like feathers, flowers and reptilian scales (a salamander was a recurring motif on tie clips, bracelets, and the adorable little fella even made an appearance on the show invitation), layers, softened, looser silhouettes, with the rounded collars of traditional African tunics shaping cardigan sweaters (more cardigans!).
And, as we reported earlier, Vuitton used the show to preview its collaboration with rapper Kanye West, who has designed a line of sneakers for the label that will debut in June.
Two shows later, Jean Paul Gaultier seemed to be inspired by a whole different kind of black power -- the militant kind -- kitting out his models in afro wigs, black berets and all manner of belted black
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