| Nhuchche |
Posted
on 09-Oct-01 11:02 PM
McCartney makes fashionable debut
Reuters
PARIS
 It was fashion as usual in Paris on Monday, with Stella McCartney making her eagerly awaited solo debut with a high-octane ready-to-wear collection dedicated to "all those touched by the tragedy of September 11".
The day after the launch of US raids on Afghanistan found the fashion crowd in defiant mood, with organisers saying that the foreign journalists and buyers who had travelled to Paris for the shows were not amending their plans.
They pointed to the continued presence of Anna Wintour, the influential editor of New York-based US Vogue, as a reassuring sign.
Some might say the timing could not be worse for McCartney to launch her own label under the patronage of Italy's Gucci Group, following her departure from the French house of Chloe last season.
Despite acknowledging a prolonged conflict could hit the luxury goods sector, Thierry Andretta, Gucci's president of emerging brands, put a brave face on events.
"Basically we have to continue. There's no point chucking everything in now," Andretta said.
In fact, rather than sink into depression, the fashion crowd seemed to go into overdrive on the fourth day of the spring-summer shows, which also featured work by Paco Rabanne.
After a weekend of low-key displays at which celebrities were noticeably absent, the front-row line-up at McCartney's show read like a roll-call of film and art world notables.
As usual, former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, accompanied by his fiancee Heather Mills, was there to cheer his daughter. Other guests included actors Dennis Hopper, Jude Law and Sadie Frost and artists Damien Hirst, Nan Goldin and Sam Taylor-Wood.
As the lights dimmed on the star-studded crowd, models emerged to a pumping soundtrack of hip-hop and ragga in a mix of provocative slogan T-shirts and delicate tailoring.
There was a vintage feel to a floor-skimming satin skirt with lace inlays and a sumptuous champagne satin coat with scalloped lapels. By contrast, swimsuits and catsuits in see-through lace were cut out to cover only the bare minimum.
All through the collection were references to London's cockney rhyming slang, such as an equestrian bridal coat in cream satin emblazoned with the words "Trouble and Strife" -- the dialect for "wife".
If the outfits spelled commercial appeal, the finale of the show was pure sentiment. As laser lights swirled across the darkened room, models stood on a revolving podium to the sound of the classic John Lennon song "Give Peace a Chance".
Rock singer Chrissie Hynde had a laconic take on the proceedings, saying fashion was no more or less relevant in light of the dramatic events unfolding elsewhere.
"I think it's a very superficial thing, fashion, but I think it's a bit of fun. Some people can afford it. For me, it's always in perspective," she said.
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