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Coinciding with the pop star Taylor Swift, Sarah Burton entered her Showgirl era. During her second presentation as Givenchy designer, Burton amplified the drama with collars dripping rhinestones along the décolletage, luscious peach maribou feathers, a compact and striking evening dress in bold crimson leather, and supermodel Naomi Campbell in a tuxedo jacket worn open over a scant lace-trimmed bra.

Establishing a Fresh Direction

Burton has been at Givenchy under a year, but the longtime associate of Alexander McQueen has already established a unique persona for the house and for herself. The Givenchy label, the legendary domain of Audrey Hepburn and the classic LBD, has a flawless lineage of sophistication that runs from Paris to Hollywood, but it is a modest entity as a business. Previous designers at the house had primarily focused on streetwear and functional metal embellishments, but Burton is reviving the allure.

"My intention was for it to be seductive and intimate and to show skin," Burton explained backstage. "When we want to empower women, we often turn to masculine elements, but I wanted to look at feminine sensibility, and the process of adorning and revealing."

Concealed appeal was also present, too, in a formal shirt in butter soft white leather. "All women vary," Burton said. "At times when selecting models, a model puts on an outfit and it becomes clear that she doesn’t want to wear a heel. So I change the look."

Reclaiming the Red Carpet

Givenchy is reaffirming its position in red carpet dressing. Burton has styled actor Timothée Chalamet in a pale yellow formal suit at the Academy Awards, and model Kaia Gerber in a retro-inspired ballet dress of black lace at the Venice Film Festival.

The Revival of Schiaparelli

The fashion house Schiaparelli, fashion’s house of surrealism, has been making a comeback under designer Daniel Roseberry from America. In the coming year, the Victoria and Albert Museum will host the first major British Schiaparelli exhibition, examining the work of designer Elsa Schiaparelli and the house she founded.

"Acquiring Schiaparelli is not about buying, you collect Schiaparelli," Roseberry declared after the show.

Women who wear Schiaparelli require no exhibition to tell them that these garments are artistic. Art-adjacency is beneficial for business – apparel is priced like fine art, with jackets starting at about £5,000. And profits, as well as reputation, is rising. The venue for the show was the Pompidou Center in the French capital, a further indication of how intimately this brand is linked to art.

Revisiting Iconic Collaborations

Roseberry reexamined one of the iconic joint efforts of Schiaparelli with artist Salvador Dalí, the 1938 “Tears” dress which will be in the V&A show. "This centered around revisiting the foundation of the fashion house," he explained.

The shredded details in the initial design were artistically applied, but for the contemporary take Roseberry shredded the silk fabric itself. In both designs, the rips are eerily suggestive of skinned skin.

Surreal Elements and Menacing Charm

A hint of danger exists at the Schiaparelli brand – Elsa referred to her mannequins, with their angular shoulders and tailored waists, as her miniature army – as well as a joyful appreciation for humor. Nail-shaped buttons and gold noses dangling as earrings are the visual grammar of the brand. The punchline of this show: fake fur crafted from paintbrushes.

Surrealist elements appear throughout contemporary fashion. Broken-egg footwear – walking on eggshells, geddit? – were highly sought-after at the brand Loewe. Dali-esque wonky clocks have graced the runway at the Moschino label. But Schiaparelli dominates this domain, and Roseberry presides over it.

"Garments from Schiaparelli possess an intense spectacle which dominates the space," he expressed. A scarlet ensemble was sliced with a triangular panel of flesh-toned mesh that rested around the area briefs are usually located, in a head-swivelling illusion of nakedness. The balance between practicality and drama is integral to the presentation.

New York Designers in Paris

A carousel of creative director launches has welcomed two NYC stars to the French fashion world. Designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez have left behind the fashion house Proenza Schouler they founded in 2002 to take over Loewe, the Spanish leather goods brand that evolved into a $1.5 billion powerhouse under the tenure of Jonathan Anderson before he moved to Dior.

The US designers appeared thrilled to be in the City of Light. Vibrant Ellsworth Kelly hues brought a joyful pop art sensibility to the in-the-know art smarts for which Loewe now stands. Banana yellow loafers swayed their tassels like the hem of Josephine Baker; a crimson peplum blazer had the confident glossy contours of a tomato sauce container. And a cocktail dress masquerading as a recently used bath sheet, fluffy as a freshly laundered bath sheet, achieved the ideal blend where clever design meets fashion fun.