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Simultaneously with Taylor Swift, Sarah Burton entered her Showgirl era. For her second outing as the creative director of Givenchy, Burton amplified the drama with collars embellished with shimmering stones across the collarbone area, luscious peach maribou feathers, a sleek and short cocktail dress in bold crimson leather, and supermodel Naomi Campbell in a tailored tuxedo blazer left open over a barely-there lace trim bra.

A New Identity

Burton's tenure at Givenchy less than a year, but Alexander McQueen’s long-term right-hand woman has quickly defined a new identity for the fashion house and for herself. The Givenchy label, the legendary domain of the actress Audrey Hepburn and the timeless black dress, has an immaculate bloodline of glamour that stretches from Paris to Hollywood, but it is a relative minnow as a business. Previous designers at the house had mostly leaned into streetwear and functional metal embellishments, but Burton is bringing back the allure.

"My intention was for it to be erotic and sensual and to expose flesh," Burton said backstage. "To strengthen women, we often adopt male-inspired styles, but I wanted to examine female emotional intelligence, and the act of dressing and undressing."

Concealed appeal was also present, too, in a dress shirt in supple white leather. "Every woman is different," Burton commented. "At times when selecting models, a model dons a look and it becomes clear that she is uncomfortable in high heels. So I change the look."

Reclaiming the Red Carpet

Givenchy is re-establishing itself in celebrity event attire. Burton has styled Timothée Chalamet in a butter yellow tuxedo at the Oscar ceremony, and model Kaia Gerber in a classic ballerina-style gown of dark lace at the Venice film festival.

Schiaparelli’s Artistic Comeback

The fashion house Schiaparelli, the surrealist fashion label, has been making a comeback under the American designer Daniel Roseberry. In the coming year, the Victoria and Albert Museum will host the inaugural UK Schiaparelli showcase, looking at the work of the founder Elsa Schiaparelli and the house she founded.

"You don’t buy Schiaparelli, you collect Schiaparelli," Roseberry remarked backstage.

Clients of Schiaparelli don’t need an exhibition to tell them that these clothes are art. Connection with the art world is beneficial for business – clothes come with gallery prices, with blazers beginning around £5,000. And income, as well as reputation, is rising. The setting for the event was the Pompidou Center in the French capital, an additional signal of how deeply this fashion house is connected to the arts.

Returning to Historic Partnerships

Roseberry revisited one of the iconic joint efforts of Schiaparelli with artist Salvador Dalí, the 1938 dress named "Tears" which will be in the V&A show. "This focused on revisiting the foundation of the brand," he explained.

The “rips” in the original were painted on, but for the modern iteration Roseberry cut into the silk crepe itself. In both, the tears are chillingly evocative of stripped tissue.

Eerie Details and Playful Threat

There is an edge of menace at the Schiaparelli brand – Elsa described her mannequins, with their defined shoulders and nipped-in waists, as her toy soldiers – as well as a gleeful delight in a joke. Nail-shaped buttons and metallic nose ornaments as earrings are the distinctive language of the brand. The highlight of this presentation: fake fur crafted from paintbrushes.

Surrealist elements appear all over current fashion. Cracked-egg heels – treading carefully, geddit? – were highly sought-after at the fashion house Loewe. Dalí-inspired melting clocks have appeared on stage at the house of Moschino. But Schiaparelli leads in this area, and Roseberry commands it.

"Garments from Schiaparelli possess a heightened theatricality which captivates everyone present," he stated. A scarlet ensemble was sliced with a triangular panel of nude-hued fabric that sat roughly where briefs are usually located, in a startling illusion of nudity. The balance between practicality and drama is all part of the show.

American Creatives in the French Capital

A merry-go-round of designer debuts has welcomed two NYC stars to the French fashion world. The duo Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez have left behind the fashion house Proenza Schouler they founded in 2002 to helm Loewe, the Spain-based leather label that grew into a £1.1 billion leading brand under the tenure of Jonathan Anderson before his transition to Dior.

The Americans looked delighted to be in the City of Light. Ellsworth Kelly brights brought a joyful pop art sensibility to the cultured artistic knowledge for which Loewe is currently known. Bright yellow loafers dangled their tassels like the fringe of Baker's costume; a crimson peplum blazer had the bold reflective shapes of a tomato sauce container. And a cocktail dress masquerading as a just-out-of-the-shower towel wrap, plush as a newly washed cloth, found the perfect balance where innovative design intersects with stylish enjoyment.