Out on a woman

PARIS - This is a notoriously chic city. Fashion is considered a serious matter, which is precisely why it's surprising that the Paris spring/summer 2008 collections were lighthearted, fun, and a bit more frivolous than usual.

Gone was the dark, strict, gothic seriousness of last season and in came floods of color and flirtation. Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld took the lead when he dropped the snooty Parisian attitude of his tweedy suits and quilted bags and embraced all-American sportswear. So much for the French disliking Americans.

Unfortunately, Lagerfeld's foray into stars, stripes, and denim was overheard being described as "disastrous" by more than one European editor. The denim bikinis, rainbow-striped knits, and barrage of silver shoes did leave one feeling that Lagerfeld was perhaps trying a bit too hard to make the collection feel young, but is that so appalling?

Coco Chanel did, after all, popularize women's sportswear (read: easier-to-wear, un-corseted separates) in the early 1910s, and although the brand may be thought of as quintessentially French, let's not forget that since Lagerfeld took the reins in 1983, his collections have been everything from mod to punk to fairytale princess, so why not all-American?

John Galliano's pretty, pink, ruffled collection was about as far from American sportswear as one could get. He's famous for his over-the-top clothes and carnival-like shows, but this time, around, he sent out an array of wearable - albeit extremely coquettish - clothes.

Sure, you had to mentally strip away the powdered hair, oversize bows, and theatrical makeup. But beneath the spectacle lay breathtaking gowns with his trademark flounced skirts, fabric rosettes, and tiers of ruffles, not to mention cardigans twisted and stretched into dresses and snug-fitting skirts. Trenches were embellished with capes and the capes unaccompanied by trenches were given volume and grand flourishes that enveloped the models' necks, displaying their painted faces like little bouquets of flowers.

Flourishes of a different kind abounded at Alexander McQueen's show. A tribute to Isabella Blow, the famously fashionable British editor and McQueen supporter who passed away in May, the show was sublimely festive with its gravity-defying hats - all designed by Philip Treacy, the milliner most often associated with Blow and with British royalty. There was an endless use of feathers and more than a few silhouettes cinched by thick belts. Then McQueen reached even further back into his archives and revived the tailored, robustly shouldered, Prince of Wales checked suits and eccentric, over-emphasized hips of seasons past.

Lanvin, on the contrary, wasn't eccentric at all. Albar Elbaz draped his girls in muted jersey and put belts around their waists. The look exuded a '70s ease. Aside from a pop of rich color toward the end - cobalt, canary yellow, royal purple, and Kelly green - neutral khaki, navy blue, and hazy gray were the colors du jour. Compared to other collections, Lanvin was glamour swathed in simplicity - a look a lot of women will be aiming for this spring.

The most talked about Paris show was Balenciaga. Nicolas Ghesquiere, Balenciaga's 36-year-old designer, stuck to one silhouette: a modified cheongsam (traditional Chinese dress), shortened to mid-thigh, amplified at the hips, with overemphasized cap sleeve. The frocks were paired with knee-grazing black and white gladiator sandals. The only variety the collection offered was in the array of floral-print fabrics and the parade of five identical, blouson-jacketed suits, all in different shades of metallic, that closed the show. It will undoubtedly be classified the most innovative show of the spring/summer season.