Gaultier inspired by Hollywood
2007-07-05 11:44
Joelle Diderich
Paris - Paris designers looked to Hollywood on Wednesday with haute couture collections that will vie for "best dressed" on the red carpet.
French actress Catherine Deneuve and Spanish director Pedro Almodovar gathered at the headquarters of Jean Paul Gaultier, where models flew the French designer's flag in velvet suits and ceremonial robes inspired by crowned heads.
Gaultier poached from men's wardrobes with slim tailcoats paired with tight leggings and thigh-high boots.
A tsarevitch proudly displayed two white foxes dangling from jet-bead shoulder straps.
But there was plenty of evening glamour too, as models with hair woven into jaunty crowns swept past in rippling gowns with lavish embroidered details.
Italian model Mariacarlo Boscono drew applause in a floor-length see-through black lace dress with a flesh-coloured corset underlay.
Nicole Kidman's Oscar dress
Gaultier has dressed celebrities from Janet Jackson to Nicole Kidman, who memorably wore one of his gowns to accept her Oscar for best actress in 2003.
He has also designed tour outfits for pop star Madonna and costumes for filmmakers like Peter Greenaway, Luc Besson and Almodovar, with whom he worked on Kika and Bad Education.
"Gaultier has so much talent that he is even capable of submitting to the obligations of a film or character," Almodovar told The Associated Press.
"He has enormous qualities as a human being and an absolutely extraordinary talent for designing."
The relationship between designers and stars goes back more than a century, when actress Sarah Bernhardt stepped on stage in a costume by Paul Poiret, who is the subject of a retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
What started off as a meeting of creator and muse has turned into big business, with some stars rumoured to receive large checks in exchange for wearing a designer's wares at high-profile events.
Organic match
"Some of the celebrity dressing and branding is like fashion payola, like we have in the music industry," said Cameron Silver, the owner of the Los Angeles vintage boutique Decades who has dressed scores of stars.
Silver is also a consultant for Loris Azzaro and credited actress Diane Lane for putting the French label back on the map by wearing its creations to the Oscars and other red carpet events - but he said no money exchanged hands.
"I think when it works it's an organic match, it can't be forced," he explained. "You can tell the difference when an actress is in a dress that she loves or a dress that's paying the mortgage."
The Paris shows were due to continue with a display by Italian designer Giorgio Armani, another favourite on Oscar night.
- AP