Chanel heads up imaginative, spirited day of shows

Naturally, many of the brighter ensembles stood out, too.

Bright pink and blue felted oversized sweaters were accessorized to kitsch effect with huge pale or silver pearl necklace clusters.

There was a highly accomplished delivery of color palette also, which lifted one checked red-and-white A-line dress, with the top part sliced off.

It paired beautifully with a contrasting, yet complementary loose blue and red coat.

Another stand out piece was a white bateau-neck ensemble with check navy bands with a clean, slightly sporty vide.

Lagerfeld, who turns 80 next year, certainly hasn’t let age slow him down: It’s the youngest collection Chanel’s seen for a while.

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN

Fashion is body armor.

At least it is for Sarah Burton, who tapped her fantastical imagination for Alexander McQueen to conjure up fashion week’s most original show: Mixing insect-like armory with on-trend stiff bar jackets of the New Look, as well as 19th century crinoline.

If it sounds strange, it was _ set to a backdrop of images of bees and honeycomb _ with each model wearing a visor reminiscent at once of the 1950s wide hat, a cage and a beekeepers mask.

Have fashions over the ages, she seemed to ask, caged and protected us like in the natural world?

A cinched metal or tortoiseshell waist band _ a recurrent Burton feature _ which fanned out into a peplum in some of the looks resembled an abdomen of a wasp or queen bee.

The fascinating collection of 31 looks _ which had fashion insiders amazed _ was as thought-out as it was perfectly executed with metal mesh materials that sparkled mechanically.

The 1950s were visited in full skirts which mixed with structuralist fashion: Hard bodice cages, which showed the inner working of corsetry of the crinoline age, on the outside.

The last collections revisited the queen theme: Billowing structured skirts in beige, soft yellow and vermilion looked like a surrealist take on Marie Antoinette.

Story Continues →

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.