Collections go back to classic elegance

Press, 31 January 1986, Page 8

Collections go back to classic elegance

By

IRINA BOSSY-GHICA,

of Reuter (through NZPA) Paris The week-long glitter and glamour of Parisian haute couture is drawing to an end with a return to classic elegance in the Chanel and Yves SaintLaurent collections. The German-born Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel’s designer, kept to the house’s alltime favourite — the perfectly-tailored suit, hugging the waist and thighs.

A star of the show was Chanel’s top model, Ines de la Fressange, the epitomy of Chanel chic, and compared by Lagerfeld with the elegant Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel. After Chanel’s elegant collection on Tuesday, which also featured glamourous evening

dresses in white lace with black velvet and silk circle dresses, Saint-Lau-rent stole the show yesterday with his simple and startling collection. His favourite, the suit, was the masterpiece of the collection, pure and shapely, square-should-ered, in plain grey, in broken checks, black or white, worn with coloured lizard skin hats, belts, and gloves. “The more I work, the more I refine. It is the basis of all work of art, to get to utmost simplicity in order to become classic, and therefore eternal,” Saint-Laurent said. His creations have indeed become classics, featuring in exhibitions and museums from New York to Moscow and Peking.

His favourite client, Catherine Deneuve, an actress, came to admire the column-like evening dresses in turquoise, navy blue, ivy green or flame red, as well as soft pastel hues.

The bride had a 1950 s look, with a huge circle skirt of polka-dot taffeta. Madame Gres, who at more than 80 is the oldest living couturier, presented a set of classic jersey ensembles in pastel shades with matching coats or jackets. The day ended with a festival of fantastic wrought plastic and metal structures with fins and spacemen suits, created by the Spanish-born Paco Rabanne, which won delighted applause from the audience.