Galliano's girls head to the South Pacific at Dior, urban chic at Lanvin and Maison Martin Margiela gets square for spring. Here are the highlights from day three of the Paris shows...
L-R: Christian Dior, Maison Martin Margiela, Lanvin and Roland Mouret (all Getty Images)
Sailor girls: John Galliano's displays at Dior are always a highlight during fashion week, and this season was no exception as the designer set sail for the South Pacific with a collection that embraced nautical style and tropical colours. Models sported sailor hats and trousers, palm print dresses accessorised with leis, chiffon minis and brightly printed sheer dresses embellished with beads and feathers, with the bottoms shredded to look like hula skirts. Beauty-wise, pin-up queen Bettie Page was the inspiration, and models had bright red lips and fringes.
The name game: Roland Mouret's return to the Paris catwalks for s/s 2011 marked a happy moment for the designer who was able to show under his own name once again after he lost the rights to use it in 2005. In addition to introducing new body-con silhouettes (sure to be a hit with Victoria Beckham), he also showed some more fluid dress shapes and easy daywear pieces like three-quarter length trousers and silk tops. The designer will be opening his first flagship in Mayfair next spring.
Second skin: In his mission to create exactly the kinds of clothes that women want to wear, Alber Elbaz remains unfailing. For spring, he delivered a series of body-con dresses in a palette of taupe, grey and vibrant brights like yellow, orange and hot pink. There were also daywear separates (nylon macs, tailored jackets and skirts), dresses with tight bodices and flowing skirts and jewelled and metal-embellished minidresses. We love the interplay between hard and soft and Elbaz's exquisite attention to detail from the exposed zippers running down dresses to the butterflies that showed up on belts and chokers. We cannot wait to see what he's done for H&M.
Save the Earth: Vivienne Westwood once again put campaigning at the forefront of her fashion with a collection that looked recycled, using materials like old towels and stained pillowcases to make up her 18th and 19th century-style dresses and suits. Guests got to take home an environmentally friendly bit of Westwood: a Sigg water bottle designed by the Dame.
2D meets 3D: Maison Martin Margiela took the exploration of menswear for women in a super conceptual direction as models walked down the runway in sandwich board versions of a mac, cardigan, sharp-shouldered blazer and evening dress. So this is what it looks like when your paper dolls come to life.
Rock on: Yohji Yamamoto's girls sported kabuki white face paint, deep red lips and matted bird's nest hair as they alternated between a sombre gothic spirit in black lace-up corsetry and rocker style in psychedelic leggings and Doc Martens.
Surfin' U.S.A: Isabel Marant took inspiration from California with a collection that mixed sporty and feminine and featured plenty of athletic references. Denim and corduroy cutoffs, baseball jackets, rugby stripe dresses, check shirts, oversized American football-style tees and lace dresses will be the uniform of choice for the young and stylish set next season.
Celeb spotting: Kate Moss (causing a paparazzi frenzy), Marisa Berenson and Rachel Bilson front row at Dior, while Trudie Styler and Sting checked out Roland Mouret and Lenny Kravitz, Janet Jackson, Dita von Teese and Jade Jagger were all at Lanvin.
Model moment: According to WWD, Karl Lagerfeld has cast iconic model Inès de la Fressange to walk in his Chanel show on 5 October. Chanel's face in the '80s, Fressange will again star in the brand's campaign, this time for s/s 2011, along with Stella Tennant and Freja Beha Erichsen.