Let'sTalkBeauty: FASHION WEEK SPRING/SUMMER 2013

Fashion Week

Looks from the Givenchy spring-summer 2013 runway collection shown during Paris Fashion Week.

An organ solo. A procession of models in short dresses with wispy, wing-like panels pinned at their backs. No doubt, Riccardo Tisci had his Catholic roots in mind when he designed his spring-summer 2013 Givenchy collection, shown Sunday night during Paris Fashion Week. But he was also worshiping at the church of couture, paying homage to the old master Hubert de Givenchy, who founded his French fashion house in 1952.
The inspiration: The 1960s Givenchy archives, the traditional dress of nuns and the style of Italian architect Carlo Molino.

The look: Couture meets ecclesiastical with a modern, romantic twist. Classic fabrics such as silk radzimer, duchesse satin, jacquard, taffeta and lace, with a soft color palette of sky blue, dove gray, white and black. Tuxedos with elongated jackets and apron tops layered underneath. Black pencil skirts with cloud-like white organza bubble tops. Pants worn with sheer, flyaway tunics anchored to the shoulders with gold clips. Cocktail dresses with single sleeves, soft ruffles at the collars and down the sides. Ankle strap sandals with wood block heels decorated with nails and rivets. Brass necklaces that brought to mind priest collars.

Looks from the Jean Paul Gaultier spring-summer 2013 collection shown during Paris Fashion Week.

Madonna, Annie Lennox, Boy George, Grace Jones and David Bowie were on the runway at Jean Paul Gaultier's spring-summer 2013 collection shown Saturday night during Paris Fashion Week.
Well, sort of.
Fashion's original enfant terrible, whose amazing museum retrospective, "The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From Sidewalk To Catwalk" was in San Francisco earlier this year, decided to pay homage to his favorite 1980s-era music style icons, many of whom he dressed back in the day, with his spring collection.

Looks from the Roland Mouret spring-summer 2013 collection shown during Paris Fashion Week.

The designer showed his stellar spring-summer collection on Friday at Paris Fashion Week.
The look: Sexy, assertive. Sharp cuts and folds. Shards of color. Close-to-the-body draping. Shift dresses, pencil skirts and tops with a fragmented architecture. Judo-inspired vests and blazers. Paper-thin sculpted leather dresses.

Looks from the Dior spring-summer 2013 runway collection shown during Paris Fashion Week.

Belgian designer Raf Simons blew the dust off the mantle of Paris high fashion on Friday when he presented his first women’s ready-to-wear collection as creative director for Christian Dior, where he replaced the disgraced John Galliano after a lengthy search for a successor.
The inspiration: The spirit of freedom as embraced by Christian Dior when he established the house in 1947, rebelling against wartime restrictions with the ultra feminine, full-skirted collection dubbed the New Look.

The spring-summer 2013 Balenciaga collection by Nicolas Ghesquiere

The look: Wickedly sexy. Tough yet sweet. Weightless yet controlled. Precise cuts, paper-thin fabrics and modernist ruffles. Sensible cube-heel brogue shoes.
Looks from the Damir Doma runway show at Paris Fashion Week.