This season, Paris Fashion Week held as much drama off the runway as it did on, with a series of well-documented designer mishaps that threatened to divert attention away from the collections shown March 1 through 9. However, creativity managed to keep the spotlight on the apparel, as designers turned out some of their most innovative stage and set designs at grand and stately locations in the French capital. The conceptual scenery from fashion houses like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Givenchy, and Balenciaga included elevators and bellhops, drawbridge-style runway entrances, archways inspired by Gothic cathedrals, and a volcano-like landscape complete with synthetic ash and dry ice. Here's a look.
Photo: Eric Ryan
For Nicola Formichetti's debut as Mugler's creative director on March 2, three rows of Gothic cathedrallike arches framed the elevated runway at Gymnase Japy. Models, including the fashion house's new musical director, Lady Gaga, walked through the central archway.
Photo: Eric Ryan
Having consistently shown at the Hôtel de Crillon's grand salon, Balenciaga returned to the gilded space and tiled the entire floor in white for Nicolas Ghesquière's fall/winter 2011 collection on March 3. The graphic, almost bathroomlike background even extended to seating for guests and served as an ideal contrast to the prints and controlled draping of the line.
Photo: Eric Ryan
A giant rectangle was cut into Lanvin's show set to reveal a massive tree, the imposing branches of which formed a dramatic arch that models emerged through. Held on March 4 at the Espace Ephémère Tuileries, the outing for Alber Elbaz was built around the weeping willow and featured a full-moon backdrop to symbolize the designer's concept of traditional roots.
Photo: Eric Ryan
Despite dismissing chief designer John Galliano just days earlier, Dior went ahead with its fall show for more than 1,500 at the Musée Rodin on March 4. Staged in a tent just beyond the museum's famous gardens, the show featured a 196-foot-long runway in front of an elegant, somewhat eerie, mirrored backdrop shaped to look like an old-school couture salon. In lieu of Galliano's traditional flamboyant bow, Dior closed the show by bringing its workers to the stage for a standing ovation from the audience.
Photo: Eric Ryan
Much like Dior, Roland Mouret played with mirrored glass for his label's outing on March 4. The designer used the reflective material to create parquet-style flooring at the Grand Hotel, allowing the clothes to be seen from multiple angles.
Photo: Eric Ryan
Always one for a cheerful show with a charming atmosphere—"she's the Paris equivalent of New York's Betsey Johnson"—Sonia Rykiel built her fall runway show set much like a Broadway production. The March 5 event was highlighted by artfully placed fluorescent lighting, and a metal fence that split the catwalk in half served as a prop for models to stop and chat by on their walks.
Photo: Eric Ryan
A drawbridge was incorporated into the runway presentation from Viktor & Rolf on March 5, clanking down in the Jardin des Tuileries' Espace Ephémère tent to reveal a robotic army of models in sharply sculpted outfits.
Photo: Eric Ryan
A glossy invitation with a black panther printed on one side and orchids on the other set the tone for Riccardo Tisci's March 6 Givenchy show at the Palais de Tokyo. The decor consisted of illuminated topiary arches, which gave the space a fragrant floral scent, and was contrasted with a growl-laden soundtrack.
Photo: Eric Ryan
A grand mansion at 16 Avenue Foch, which Miu Miu has traditionally used for its shows, became the last-minute venue for the John Galliano show after the label's disgraced designer left Paris for rehab on the eve of Paris Fashion Week. In place of the originally scheduled show and its expected extravagant antics, an intimate presentation of several mini shows was held, featuring models informally walking amid flowers and antiques.
Photo: Eric Ryan
Held for the second season at the Tennis Club de Paris, designer Phoebe Philo's show for Céline on March 6 turned the cavernous concrete venue into a modern studio with low bench seating and bright overhead lighting. As an interesting architectural touch, the parquet runway was inlaid with one diamond-shaped slab of pink marble.
Photo: Eric Ryan
In stark contrast to the igloo-like setting it created last March, Chanel's show on March 8 was made to look like the inside of a volcano. Held once again at the Grand Palais, it included scenery such as smoldering rocks, synthetic volcanic ash, dry ice to emulate steam, and a 525-foot-long curved wooden catwalk.
Photo: Eric Ryan
Models emerged from drawbridgelike ramps at both ends of Chanel's runway.
Photo: Eric Ryan
Huge black PVC balloons bobbed overhead as guests arrived at Louis Vuitton show on March 9. Constructed in a courtyard at the Louvre, a dramatic, all-black tent coupled with the dozens of French chambermaids that served as greeters set the tone for the show's fetishist motif.
Photo: Eric Ryan
Inside Louis Vuitton's blacked-out venue, a glossy square-shaped runway was decorated with a checkerboard pattern and matched by black faux leather cushioned seats for guests. Adding to the dark atmosphere was the use of a single spotlight on each model as she walked, leaving the rest of the space unlit.
Photo: Eric Ryan
During Louis Vuitton's show, models emerged from old-fashioned caged elevators operated by uniformed bellhops. Show producer KCD elevated the show tent, allowing for an underground tunnel that connected the catwalk to the backstage area.
Photo: Eric Ryan
