Karl Lagerfeld's dynamic soundtrack mixed Prince with Scissor Sisters in a metaphor for his collection's playful juxtaposition of proportions—from the eighties, there were broad-shouldered swing coats, short or long but always with a great deal of swagger, and from today, superskinny pantsuits that define a new silhouette.
Tommy Hilfiger Inc. bought the Lagerfeld Gallery label at the end of last year, and that development seemed to signal a heightened sense of luxury at the house—from the extraordinary LED backdrop that spelled the designer's name (and also reappeared on low-slung belts that anchored the designer's second-skin pants) to the collection's embarrassment of furs and fur trims. Lush fox stoles wrapped asymmetrically around the body with jersey ties, while narrow turtleneck sweaters had detachable funnel collar and bib combinations to help deflect the sort of glacial weather that Paris experienced the morning of the show.
For day, Lagerfeld wrapped his heroine dresses with habitual geometric rigor—and added a great deal of swingy volume to coats to balance the lean looks beneath. But for all that clean-cut severity, his after-dark clothes were a riot of prettiness. Standouts included slipper satin and jersey gowns with twisted apron halters and soft evening dresses with a thirties flavor in dusty boudoir pinks and teals, belted with garlands of chiffon roses like those once used by Madeleine Vionnet.
