Paris Fashion Week kicks off with dance and theatricality

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Dance and theatricality were at the heart of Paris Fashion Week's first day of spring shows, as American stars Blake Lively and Shailene Woodley gushed over Dior's balletic presentation at the famed Longchamps racecourse. While, Gucci held its evening spectacle at France's answer to Studio 54, the iconic Le Palace – once the club that showcased fashion's most dramatic looks.

Here are some highlights from Monday:

An ode to dance

Dancers perform on the runway during the Christian Dior show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2019 on September 24, 2018, in Paris, France. /VCG Photo

To clouds of falling white petals, dancers clad in patterned bodysuits twisted gracefully to the clicking sound of a metronome.This season, Dior turned to dance to produce the music and visuals for its spring-summer collection, infused with diaphanous, tulle-rich gowns.

The house enlisted the talents of choreographer Sharon Eyal for a sublime and balletic contemporary dance performance that ran throughout the spring-summer show.

"You marry dance with fashion and movement and you have a visceral, overwhelming experience," Shailene Woodley said.

The show at Le Palace

A general view shows the Palace as guests arrive to attend the Spring/Summer 2019 women's ready-to-wear collection show for fashion house Gucci during Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France, September 24, 2018. /VCG Photo

Following on from Gucci's May resort show in The Alyscamps, a famed Roman necropolis near Arles, the Milan-based powerhouse continued its year-long love affair with France by hosting its spring show in Paris, exceptionally.

The one-off venue was carefully chosen: Le Palace, the iconic club-turned-theater that was inaugurated in 1978 by Grace Jones who sang La Vie en Rose atop a pink Harley Davidson.

The time dial was set to styles from between 1978 and 1985 – the heyday of the club. Shades, large hats, oversize beads, sequins, and glitter were ubiquitous. Peaked-shoulder tuxedo jackets in white followed a loose leopard print gown with silver shoes.

Demonstrating that the collection didn't take itself too seriously, at one point a model in a gray tuxedo and sneakers strutted out with a real parrot sitting on her shoulder.

Jean Patou to be revived

A model prepares backstage before the Afterhomework show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2019 on September 25, 2018, in Paris, France. /VCG Photo

France's luxury giant LVMH has told the AP it will revive the iconic fashion house of Jean Patou.

One of France's most famous couturiers in between the two World Wars, Patou was credited with popularizing the cardigan, inventing the tennis skirt and killing the flapper style. His house was most closely associated with the perfume "Joy," a rival to Chanel's No. 5 as one of the world's most popular fragrances.

For the relaunch, designer Guillaume Henry, who once revived Carven and worked recently at Nina Ricci, has been appointed as artistic director.

A trend of oversize

Aya Jones and models display creations during the Jacquemus Fashion Show as part of Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2019 held in Paris, France, on September 24, 2018. /VCG Photo

Striped bikinis and giant hessian bags provided the fun at Jacquemus' simple clothes collection.

Loose silhouettes and large hoopla earrings gave the collection a confident swagger – a little like the 28-year-old wunderkind designer Simon Porte Jacquemus himself.

Oversized pieces of draped fabric that descended from the bust to floor, and giant skirt frills that ran diagonally down the body, provided the collection's more creative moments.

The show perhaps lacked the feeling of luxury normally associated with the Paris catwalks, but it felt fresh and youthful.

(Cover: Dancers perform on the runway during the Christian Dior show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2019 on September 24, 2018, in Paris, France. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AP