Gaultier Couture Gowns Ideal for Snack-Stashing

If models at today's Jean Paul Gaultier show wanted to keep an extra meal on hand for convenience, then they were in luck: Most of the dresses had enormous pockets, some so large you could fit a whole picnic in there. In fact, putting stuff in there could be risky, because it might get lost in those giant quilted folds, and the next thing you know you've got a three-day-old sandwich kicking around in your skirt.

But in all seriousness, this show was fun and over-the-top in all of Gaultier's usual ways, which was nice to see as he gears up to launch a more commercial diffusion line, Gaultier2. Just because he's trying to tap into the mass consumer market doesn't mean he's abandoning his wacky couture designs. (Our only qualm: Where was Andrej Pejic?)

Other highlights: leopard-print everything, including tights and sequined jackets. The show concluded with French reality TV star Nabilla Benattia, who danced down the catwalk in a padded bustier and Cindy Lou Who hair. Tacky in the best way, as always.

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Schiaparelli Lives: See Christian Lacroix’s Glorious, Puffy Gowns

Christian Lacroix's long awaited tribute to Elsa Schiaparelli, created in honor of her house's revival, opened yesterday at the museum Les Arts Décoratifs. Just as we'd hoped, it was crammed full of huge bows, sculpted taffeta ruffles, and swooping feathered hats. Because the pieces won't be sold or, in most cases, even worn by humans, they were free to defy practicality, like true objets d'art. See that fur-trimmed, bat-winged veil, for instance, or this crop top made of what looks like gorilla hair, or those parachute pants that could literally be used as a parachute. As Lacroix promised, the designs are more like costumes than actual clothes.

But much as we love Lacroix, he is not here to stay — this collection was a one-off deal, and the partnership won't continue. Schiaparelli's long-term creative director has yet to be officially announced by owner Diego Della Valle, but various journalists, including Cathy Horyn and Vogue's Hamish Bowles, have reiterated with some certainty that it'll be Marco Zanini, who currently helms Rochas. Perhaps the paperwork has yet to be finalized? Then again, the house has been moving verrry slowly with this revival process, Italian lunch hour style, so who knows when we'll find out.

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