Kate Moss hid under a hat, Eva Herzigova shivered in the cold, Catherine Deneuve and A$AP Rocky sat poker-faced, while only Charlotte Gainsbourg managed a smile.
Fashion crowds do not usually brave a cold, elemental construction-site at night in Paris unless there’s a very good reason.
And this was it: Anthony Vaccarello’s highly-anticipated sophomore collection for the iconic house of Saint Laurent.
Here are some highlights from Tuesday, the first day of fall-winter 2017 shows.
Saint Laurent under construction A model presents a creation by Yves Saint-Laurent during the women’s fall-winter 2017-2018 fashion week in Paris on Tuesday. (AFP-Yonhap)
The Saint Laurent show venue -- a near-derelict site on the Left Bank that’s undergoing construction and renovation -- was a clear metaphor.
Vaccarello is continuing his creative reconstruction of the Parisian house since Hedi Slimane’s departure.
As smoke -- or was it dust? -- wafted from the sides of the set scaffolding, the myriad looks began to file by.
They mixed the shimmering disco-dresses from the Slimane years with the peaked, tuxedo shoulders associated with the late house founder Yves Saint Laurent.
But beyond this, the exhaustive collection seemed less to do with Saint Laurent than Vaccarello himself like last season -- in all his brazen, provocative glory.
Plunging necklines met slashed asymmetry.
Patent fetish-like black leather came alongside exposed breasts.
While uber-mini dresses -- the staple silhouette -- teased the eye with knee-high-, and sometimes stripper-, boots.
Still, there were some nice creative twists, like a leg of mutton sleeve made literally out of mutton.
Elsewhere, there were some skillful abstract plays on leather ruffles -- and the ruched boots will fly off the shelves.
Vera Wang gets decoratedOne of the biggest names at New York Fashion Week switched allegiance this season -- forgoing a runway show in February in her native land in favor of a trip to the City of Light.
There was good reason.
On Tuesday to kick off Paris Fashion Week, Vera Wang was presented France’s top civilian award, the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, for her services to the fashion industry by France’s Ambassador to the United States, Gerard Araud.
The 67-year-old New York-born designer was celebrated at the official ceremony at a lunch at the Hotel des Invalides.
The designer opted to present her fall-winter collection by means of a short online film -- instead of a runway show -- released Tuesday. (AP)