Colourful and classy as Paris designers win over audience

PARIS designers pulled out the stops as the spring-summer ready-to-wear shows headed into their final stretch, presenting outfits fit for socialites, fashion victims and working mothers.

Valentino specialises in what could be called the Liz Hurley school of dressing, and he devoted the bulk of his collection yesterday to luxurious daywear for ladies who lunch.

The humble parka was given a glamorous makeover, appearing in lime taffeta paired with floaty tiered chiffon skirts in multicolored stripes.

Valentino, famed for dressing celebrities on Oscar night, sent out rippling silk gowns with satin ribbon or pearl belts looped through large metallic eyelets shimmering with crystals.

“Fashion must find the right balance between reality and glamour. In order to have a meaning, clothes must be closely suited to the lives of women today,” he said in a statement.

But La Liz can rest easy.

Valentino’s concept ofreality leaves room for accessories like a necklace of pearls with a pendant the size of a child’s fist.

Sixties socialite parties with London “It” girl at the Glastonbury festival - that was the unlikely premise for John Galliano’s show late on Saturday and an excuse for a riotous celebration of rock deities from John Lennon to Kurt Cobain. Models trailing helium balloons paraded in outfits ranging from shredded denim blazers and psychedelic-patterned flares to Schiaparelli-pink evening gowns with lavish bead embroidery.

Galliano said the show was inspired by Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton and Sienna Miller, the British actress dating Jude Law.

That made for witty touches like a shocking pink tufted chiffon poodle embroidered on the back of a frayed denim coat.

Pillbox hats with little veils drew approving nods from Dita Von Teese, the burlesque dancer and girlfriend of shock rocker Marilyn Manson, who arrived at the show dressed like a 1940s film star in a black satin skirt suit and elaborate feather hat.

Galliano proved he could appeal to the older generation too with well-known socialites loving the show.