This year’s spring-summer collection by Jean-Paul Gaultier was a glamorous affair at Paris Fashion Week. <br /><br />Butterfly show-girls fluttered down the catwalk as the designer transformed his haute couture gowns into delicate creations with iridescent wings in multicoloured hues.<br /><br />Many of the models wore extravagant headdresses spouting ostrich and pheasant feathers.<br /><br />“This inspiration was totally butterfly, but it was that kind of butterfly from day and from night, so the ‘papillons Parisiens’, little Parisian women, from day, that become after like a butterfly, a showgirl. So it was a little, like, sexiness in it, but elegant and chic and very, very, very, very couture,” said Jean-Paul Gaultier.<br /><br />In a show inspired by burlesque dancers, who better to call upon as a surprise guest than American model Dita Von Teese?<br /><br />Gaultier’s customary bride took to the runway in a cabaret-style bodysuit and a veritable waterfall of feathers flowing off the top of her head.<br /><br />Lebanese designer Elie Saab’s show at the Palais de Chaillot drew a host of celebrities including lingerie designer Chantal Thomass and French actress Clotilde Courau in the front row. <br /><br />With the traditional intricate craftsmanship that defines couture clothing, the Elie Saab show delivered a delicate spectacle of elegance. It featured a cascade of fabric petals on evening gowns reminiscent of 19th century watercolour paintings. The fabrics were rich and full. Lines were free flowing, and pleats and draping had a weightless elegance.<br /><br />Saab’s bride, who closed the show, wore a very traditional, beautifully embroidered wedding dress, that flowed out effortlessly from the waist.
