A year ago John Galliano stuck his neck out and produced a neo-punk asymmetric look for a Dior haute couture collection. He tilted hems 45 degrees and corkscrewed clothes around the body.
It was a controversial collection, dismissed in many quarters as unwearable, yet within months the ready-to-wear designers were toying with the look. How he must have enjoyed this week in Paris as other designers start to adopt those twisted, asymmetric silhouettes. Galliano is a man ahead of his time, a designer of influence who likes to push the envelope of fashion.
His new Spring 2001 collection shown in Paris yesterday endorses the asymmetric look with raw-edged, patchwork chiffon skirts cut at angles then teamed with jeans, jackets and shirts, and customised with badges and appliques. Yes, the styling is confusing, with delicate, raw-edged garments, slashed, zipped and frayed, and teamed with nylon sailing jackets and baggy trousers.
These sporty pieces are embellished with the names of Dior fragrances: Miss Dior, Diorissima and Diorella. Yet beneath this complex presentation is a very commercial line of customised T-shirts, swimwear, lingerie and belts - cut from the top of a pair of jeans - and, of course, dresses.
The pretty bias-cut dresses on which Galliano's craft is founded came in wispy lurex silk chiffon, silk tulle and lace. The neo-punk elements were also still there, in the chunky zipped T-shirts and bikinis with a single shoulder strap formed from half of a zip. If you want the bandeau-look, simply zip the whole thing together.
Creativity and imagination sets Paris apart from Milan, from the funky modernism of Galliano at Dior to the calm, poetic beauty of Issey Miyake. The Miyake collection, now designed by his collaborator Nakio Takizawa, was a vision of tranquillity as balletic-looking models glided slowly by wearing layers of stark white cotton, boxy jackets, long skirts, loose trousers and pretty pleated chiffon aprons.
The fine balance of illusion and technology lurk close to the surface at Miyake with simple white long dresses, stiffened at the hem with an inflated tube which gave the impression the models were floating gently along the catwalk.
There is a magical, whimsical quality to the Miyake collections. The whimsical was sadly missing from the Cacharel collection, for which British/Brazilian design duo Suzanne Clements and Inacio Ribeiro made their Paris catwalk debut.
Cacharel is remembered for its soft-focussed moody Sarah Moon photographs of the late 70s, and a sweet-smelling fragrance. But in its day it was renowned for pretty print combinations which eventually found a home in lingerie. The brand is hoping the Clements Ribeiro combination will revive their fortunes, but based on what was shown Monday night they have a long way to go. The shapes were sporty and simple, the fresh print combinations of Toile de Jouy and Geisha Girl sweet and pretty, but they didn't add up to very much.