Paris fashion for 2006 — A romantic voyage
Carol Mongo

PARIS—Designers who showed spring-summer 2006 collections in Paris on Tuesday took women on a long, romantic vacation. In the streets of Paris, a transport strike snarled traffic and heated up tempers. But it was pure calm at Issey Miyake, where creative director Naoki Takizawa brought women to the marshes of Asia for a cool look at his “Singiing Bamboo” summer collection
A vegetal theme reigned throughout as the Japanese designer used lots of natural fibers for tops, jackets, skirts and one great suit with a bamboo hand-painted motif. The show began with cotton and linen sheath dresses etched with fine corn-silk fringe. The same fringe spilled over the hips of short skirts worn with simple T-shirts.
Many tops were pure and effortless - a scarf tied over the bust or tossed over the shoulders of a sleeveless shirt. Long sarong skirts wrapped gently around the hips, spilling over to the side in a cascade of pleats that looked like a giant leaf. Though fishnet tank tops are nothing new, the ones layered over T-shirts and long sarong skirts in this collection were dotted with iridescent seed beads.
Last March, Jean Paul Gaultier took his couture clients on a trip to Romania. From the looks of all of the peasant blouses, oversized smocks and Cossack pants, it would appear that Gaultier extended his trip to Ukraine. This ready-to-wear collection told the story of an imaginary village where peasants wear luxurious versions of folkloric garb.