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Coinciding with Taylor Swift, Sarah Burton stepped into her Showgirl phase. During her second presentation as the creative director of Givenchy, Burton turned up the volume with collars adorned with sparkling rhinestones along the décolletage, rich peach-colored maribou plumes, a sleek and short cocktail dress in lipstick red leather, and Naomi Campbell in a formal tuxedo coat draped over a barely-there lace trim bra.

Establishing a Fresh Direction

Burton's role at Givenchy under a year, but the former key collaborator at McQueen has quickly defined a distinctive character for the brand and for herself. The Givenchy label, the spiritual home of the actress Audrey Hepburn and the classic LBD, has an immaculate bloodline of elegance that stretches from Paris to Hollywood, but it is a modest entity as a business. Previous designers at the house had mostly leaned into urban fashion and functional metal embellishments, but Burton is reintroducing the allure.

"My intention was for it to be seductive and intimate and to reveal the body," Burton noted after the show. "To strengthen women, we often reach for masculine codes, but I wanted to explore feminine sensibility, and dressing and undressing."

Concealed appeal was also present, too, in a dress shirt in butter soft white leather. "All women vary," Burton commented. "At times when selecting models, a model tries on a garment and I can just tell that she is uncomfortable in high heels. So I change the look."

Red Carpet Revival

Givenchy is reaffirming its position in celebrity event attire. Burton has styled actor Timothée Chalamet in a soft yellow tuxedo at the Academy Awards, and Kaia Gerber in a retro-inspired ballet dress of dark lace at the Venice Film Festival.

Schiaparelli’s Surreal Resurgence

The brand Schiaparelli, the avant-garde design house, has been experiencing a revival under the American designer Daniel Roseberry. The following year, the V&A will host the premier British exhibition on Schiaparelli, exploring the work of Elsa Schiaparelli and the brand she created.

"Schiaparelli is not merely purchased, it becomes a collection," Roseberry said after the show.

Those who don Schiaparelli need no showcase to tell them that these designs are masterpieces. Proximity to art is good for the bottom line – clothes come with gallery prices, with blazers beginning around £5,000. And revenue, as well as visibility, is rising. The venue for the show was the Pompidou Centre in Paris, a further indication of how intimately this brand is linked to art.

Returning to Historic Partnerships

Roseberry recalled one of the iconic joint efforts of Schiaparelli with Salvador Dalí, the 1938 "Tears" gown which will be in the V&A show. "This was about going back to the roots of the fashion house," he said.

The torn effects in the original were carefully rendered, but for the modern iteration Roseberry tore into the silk crepe itself. In each version, the rips are eerily suggestive of flayed flesh.

Surreal Elements and Menacing Charm

A hint of danger exists at the Schiaparelli house – Elsa referred to her mannequins, with their sharp shoulders and nipped-in waists, as her miniature army – as well as a joyful appreciation for humor. Fingernail-inspired fasteners and gold noses dangling as earrings are the visual grammar of the house. The highlight of this presentation: synthetic fur created using brushes.

Surrealist elements appear across modern style. Cracked-egg heels – walking on eggshells, get it? – were highly sought-after at the fashion house Loewe. Dalí-inspired melting clocks have graced the runway at the Moschino label. But Schiaparelli owns this territory, and Roseberry presides over it.

"Garments from Schiaparelli possess a heightened theatricality which dominates the space," he expressed. A scarlet ensemble was sliced with a geometric insert of skin-colored netting that was positioned approximately where a pair of knickers should, in a captivating deception of bare skin. The balance between practicality and drama is a key aspect of the event.

US Talents Take on Paris

A merry-go-round of designer debuts has welcomed two NYC stars to Paris. Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez have departed from the Proenza Schouler brand they founded in 2002 to helm Loewe, the Spain-based leather label that evolved into a $1.5bn (£1.1bn) alpha name under the leadership of Jonathan Anderson before his transition to Dior.

The US designers appeared thrilled to be in the City of Light. Ellsworth Kelly brights brought an upbeat pop art aesthetic to the cultured artistic knowledge for which Loewe has become recognized. Vivid yellow slip-ons dangled their tassels like Josephine Baker’s skirt; a crimson peplum blazer had the bold reflective shapes of a ketchup bottle. And a party gown imitating a just-out-of-the-shower towel wrap, plush as a newly washed cloth, captured the sweet spot where clever design meets fashion fun.