Inside Paris Fashion Week

April 11, 2010

Inside Paris Fashion Week: What better reason to visit France in the springtime?
By Kim Marian
La Mode – C’est Magnifique!
Ah, Paris. The cafés, the patisseries, the fashion! Everywhere you
look in Paris, people are fashionable. They are pulled together and
well-dressed even if it’s just to run to the market. What better place
to visit for the penultimate fashion presentation – Paris during
Fashion Week! I had reason to visit France this Spring and chose that
week to travel. What a great decision!
If you aren’t a fashion devotee like I am, Fashion Week is a series of
runway shows presented by major and minor clothing designers which
take place in four primary cities: New York, London, Milan, and Paris.
Other cities have runway presentations, but these four are those which
attract the most attention and attendance from key figures in fashion
and the media. The pinnacle is Paris. It is the place to present your
fashion collection. Several premier British designers prefer to show
in Paris versus their home country, thanks to the prestige of the
French shows.
There are no tickets available for purchase for Fashion Week
presentations. No scalpers. No friends with friends-of-friends. These
are private shows with access granted only to those holding an
invitation. Knowing an invitation is the only way to get into a Paris
Fashion Week show, I offered to write an article for Northern Express
if the paper applied for accreditation on my behalf. Fortunately for
me (and you), Northern Express garnered an invitation to the Christian
Dior presentation. How fortunate… Dior is one of my favorite
designers!

FIRST TIME PARIS
Dior’s show was staged at Espace Ephémère Tuileries at Jardin des
Tuileries. Having arrived in Paris for the first time, to me, this
meant “look for the big white tent at the Tuileries which is in front
of the Louvre.” Little did I know! The first tents I found were those
housing a massive Designers Expo. (Imagine the Civic Center Boat Show
for clothing, shoes, and accessories magnified – a lot.) No runway
presentations there. Fortunately for my budget, I did not get
distracted by the Expo, which is open to the public, and continued on
my quest for the runway show location. Walking through the Tuileries,
I eventually found the correct huge white tent. There I encountered an
experience beyond comprehension.
Paris Fashion Week! I walked through a crowd of photographers and
onlookers. People were lined up outside the security perimeter and on
an aqueduct positioned perpendicular to the tent. As I melded in with
the well-heeled crowd and cleared security, I entered the tent and
settled into my standing-room-only spot. (I was not important enough
to warrant a highly coveted seat, but I was in the tent at Christian
Dior.)
As I watched, the fashion crowd settled in. There were many embraces
and air kisses on and off the runway. At one point, the photographers
clamored over one another to get a shot of a certain celebrity in the
front row (the most coveted position in fashion). That particular
celebrity turned out to be none other than Charlize Theron,
Oscar-winning actress and one of the faces of Dior.

START THE SHOW
Eventually pacified by many a good shot of Ms. Theron and after many
requests from security, the photographers returned to their riser
which was easily 12 rows high and 20-30 people across. I could only
imagine such a scene, much less grasp the fact I was in the middle of
it! Once the photogs were re-settled, the house lights went down and
the show began. Lightning, thunder, and the sound of thundering horses
cast a backdrop for the show. The runway lights came up and we all
enjoyed an amazing display of high-end fashion.
The Fall 2010 Prêt-à-Porter (ready-to-wear, opposed to haute couture
or men’s) collection clearly followed the equestrian inspiration of
the Christian Dior Haute Couture collection shown merely weeks before.
Tall, waify models strutted the long runway in knickers, riding coats,
gauzy dresses, and platform boots which hit each model at mid-thigh.
Visit Women’s Wear Daily for still images of the entire collection.
(By the way, if you can’t afford Dior but covet their style, contact
Traverse City fashion designer Laurie Wildman. Dior was evocative of
her collection, created well before Dior’s early-March show.)
Fashion designers typically walk with a model to complete the final
walk which showcases the entire collection for one last look. Ever the
showman, John Galliano, the creative director behind the current
Christian Dior collection, made his own entrance to close the show.
The last of the models was backstage while Galliano took the runway to
a dark stage. He posed within the gothic column backdrop, the lights
came up, and he walked his own short strut to the applause of a
clearly thrilled audience.

AFTER THE SHOW
For me, leaving the tent was equally as surreal as entering and
watching the show. Paparazzi and general onlookers alike crowded the
barriers around the tent, snapping pictures of anyone and everyone
leaving. The hope was to catch a glimpse of the who’s-who of fashion
and celebrities certain to be in attendance. After I walked out, I
watched the excitement continue. A flurry of camera activity
accompanied each appearance of a model from the show, still in full
make-up and runway hair wearing street clothes and amazing shoes and
boots. Every model trying to dash to her next show was confronted by
cameras. Without exception, they would pose politely and continue the
dash for the next show.
As the crowds thinned and my time became short, I headed for the
nearest Metro station to get to a space called the Halle Freyssinet
where I would have to work my charms to gain access to the Vivienne
Westwood show.
I arrived significantly earlier to the Westwood show and waited
patiently for the opportunity to enter the venue. This allowed for
great people-watching, The general crowd was smaller but equally
enthralled at Halle Freyssinet, the home to not one but three
sequential shows: Vivienne Westwood, Lanvin, and Maison Martin
Margiela.
Owing to Westwood’s punk/avant-garde design aesthetic, the crowd here
was more creatively dressed than the Dior devotees. In addition to the
fashion elite, models were arriving on foot, via car, and via
motorscooter, complete with a warm blanket and driver.

HIGH ENERGY
Unfortunately, my Dior invitation did not help me get into Westwood.
However, thanks to André, my new friend who handles PR at Westwood, I
was able to get in to enjoy the show from the standing area just next
to the photographer’s riser. You’ve never heard so many digital photo
clicks!
Unfortunately, my petite stature (I’m 5‘1“) contributed to me seeing
less of the fashion, versus my great standing position at Dior.
Regardless, the energy was equally high; just being there felt
surreal, and I enjoyed being part of the action.
Vivienne Westwood’s design aesthetic is unique and her collection for
Fall 2010 was clearly inspired by the Brothers Grimm. The collection
featured androgynous models, including heavy eyebrows and drawn-on
mustaches, outfitted in capes and dresses evocative of the famed
children’s fables.
Leaving the Westwood presentation was less chaotic than the Dior show,
but the café I visited after the show was full of chaos. Fashion-types
were crowding in to compare notes on Westwood, grab a café creme
before the Lanvin show, or to stay warm before heading in for Maison
Martin Margiela.
I attempted to gain access to one other show and had my closest
encounter with major celebrity.
As I was waiting to befriend another PR person at Yves Saint Laurent,
whose show was at the Grand Palais in the district of the Champs
Élysées and Arc de Triomphe, Maria Shriver, Mary Kate Olsen, and
Ashley Olsen went dashing in past me to enjoy the presentation,
presumably from the front row. Once again, the walk up to the entrance
was through a crowd of paparazzi, onlookers, and other fashion fans.
YSL was scheduled for 8 p.m. with purple lighting on the side of the
historic Grand Palais and the private Mercedes Benz cars and drivers
out front made for a glamorous arrival, if only for those already
inside. Unable to befriend a YSL PR representative, I was shut out
from the show. All was not lost - I headed to a lovely restaurant for
dinner and toasted a valiant attempt!

JUST ANOTHER DAY?
Paris Fashion Week was different from what I anticipated. Being a
junkie for all TV shows about fashion and modeling, I anticipated the
city being consumed with Fashion Week. My experience was the exact
opposite. Unless you were at or near one of the venues, there was
little sense anything out of the ordinary was happening.
My PR friend André said he hoped to see me again. I certainly hope so.
Should I receive an invitation or two as a result of this visit, I
plan to return to Paris for the next season’s presentations. With my
tale for you complete, the last sip of my café crème enjoyed, I have
asked my waiter for the check. Now, I’m off to attend the easiest
fashion presentations I can access: shopping the Champs-Élysées!

Fashion gal Kim Marian is based in Traverse City and believes style
starts with attitude. While being fashionable, she runs a marketing
consultancy, is a personal trainer, and designs a small handbag
collection. Kim can be reached at kim.marian@att.net.