Couture Week

Jean Paul Gaultier Fall 2010 Couture: There's a bit of Lady Gaga madness to this one, no? 

[image via style.com ]

Since couture is all about fantasy, and since I got such great feedback on my Chanel/artichoke comparison, I flirted with the idea of doing a post full of silly musings. In the end, though, there was so much beauty I wanted to share that didn't lend itself to comparisons with vegetables or Devo hats.

After the jump, some highlights from the fall '10 couture shows in Paris...


Christian Dior's Tropical Garden
The colors + that hair = my favorite show of the week. Props to the models who withstood the cellophane wrapping (and to Galliano's genius, obviously).

Valentino's Bird Cage
Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli took the traditional hoop skirt and turned it on its head.

Jean Paul Gaultier's Flappers
These oversized turbans looked past the 80s' incarnation and harkened back to an era of burlesque and bathtub gin, with Ms. Dita von Teese closing the show.

Chanel's Boots and Jewels

Lagerfeld's clothing was jaw-dropping as always, but the accessories stole the show.

Elie Saab's Inferno
Like flames sweeping the runway, these gowns were inspired by Venice's La Fenice opera house, which burned to the ground three times.

[Dior, Valentino, Gaultier and Saab images via style.com / Chanel images via New York Magazine]