Paris Fashion Week

Paris Fashion Week

The Paris shows ended on a high, thanks in no small part to Karl Lagerfeld, who imported a massive iceberg from Scandinavia as the backdrop for his furry Chanel coats and boots, iceberg-blue Angora knits and tweedy suits — not to mention full arctic bear ensembles. Even the bags played on the theme — some of them, in fact, turned out to be hot water bottles. Chanel is one of the few labels that have weathered the crisis well and, thankfully, Lagerfeld uses its considerable resources to constantly up the ante when it comes to creating a visual spectacle.

Needless to say, most other designers kept things simple by comparison. At Chloé, the designer Hannah MacGibbon worked almost exclusively in a sober palette of beige, offering men’s-wear-inspired pantsuits, overcoats and slacks that brought to mind a 1976 French Vogue spread — or the wardrobes of male fashion icons like Ralph Lauren and Giorgio Armani at that time. At Valentino, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli stuck to the ruffle motif they turned into a huge trend last season — and why not? So far, the pair is successfully modernizing Valentino’s appeal with kicky dresses and cool accessories (like their new studded shoes) while staying true to the house’s uptown roots. Miuccia Prada, for her part, committed to the ’60s trendlet that she began in Milan; at Miu Miu, the brightly hued shifts, U-front dresses and square-toed shoes brought to mind a modernized Pierre Cardin.

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