Girl power rules the runway in Paris
Joelle Diderich

PARIS—Girl power ruled the runway in Paris on Thursday, a day dominated by female designers led by Alessandra Facchinetti, who showed her first collection for Valentino since its founder retired last month. It was deja vu all over again for the 35-year-old Italian, who a few years ago was handed the equally thorny task of replacing Tom Ford at Gucci.
But Facchinetti displayed grace under pressure in her Valentino debut, sending out slim dresses with ruffle details and clean tailored coats with full volumes in the back. “The DNA can’t be changed, it’s just the point of view that has changed and the proportion that is more up to date,” she told reporters backstage. Indeed, the casual allure of a black coat, slung over a pink chiffon ruffle dress with a Pierrot collar, will probably raise eyebrows in the Valentino camp.
Known as the king of the red carpet, the 75-year-old designer dressed royalty, first ladies and the cream of the jet set for nearly five decades. Valentino did not attend the show, but his longtime business partner, Giancarlo Giammetti, was on hand to make sure his heritage was preserved. “I saw a nice evolution, I didn’t see a great change,” he said. “At least she didn’t do trash out of Valentino and that’s very important.”
Longtime Valentino client Rebecca Romijn praised Facchinetti for staying faithful to the master’s spirit. “Obviously she had huge shoes to fill, and I think she did a very nice job,” the actress told reporters. Organic, curving shapes were the dominant feature of Thursday’s shows, as clothes enfolded the body like pods and hemlines extended below the knee — no doubt a reflection of the economic uncertainty roiling financial markets.
Ivana Omazic sculpted high-tech fabrics into billowing parkas with parachute hems or coats with bulb-shaped sleeves in her collection for Celine, inspired by extreme sports and flowers. The Croatian designer has steadily imposed her vision in the three years since she joined the French label, and this was her strongest collection yet. “There is this general idea that either you’re very elegant and chic, either you’re very comfortable. Why shouldn’t you be both at the same time?” she told reporters. British designer Stella McCartney has built her career on correctly guessing what other women really, really want.
Next winter, she sees them wrapping up in oversized coats in fuzzy grey felt or rich double faced cocoa wool. Perhaps it is the effect of having three children in three years, but McCartney was definitely in the mood for cocooning. Her rock chick aesthetic of yore has evolved into a casual sophistication that spans from striped blanket capes to a black cocktail mini dress with a stand-away bustier.
Yves Saint Laurent designer Stefano Pilati may not wear the outfits he designs, but he grew up in a house full of stylish women, sketching his first outfits for his sisters after stealing their copies of Vogue. His razor-sharp collection of lean tailored jackets and cascading riding skirts will likely appeal to strong women like actress Julianne Moore, who sat in the front row. Models deftly negotiated a futuristic white set despite the black pudding bowl wigs that covered their eyes and rendered them unrecognizable — the only off-key note in an otherwise femme-friendly show.