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Louis Vuitton Fall 2009. Click for full-length view.

For the record, his show for Louis Vuitton, scheduled for 2:30 today, started at 2:37 pm. Though technically seven minutes late, it is in reality at least 23 minutes early, according to the way most fashion-show attendees calculate their schedules. Hence guests scrambled to their seats as the first models stepped on to the runway.

The show took place in a clear-wall tent in a courtyard at the Louvre. The setting was genius – using natural light while allowing passersby to gawk happily from outside.

The clothes were all trussed up.

Ruching abounded. Leather jackets, skirts, pants were ruched – a sort of gathering that scrunches fabric up along a single thread, but in this case, many garments were ruched all over, practically like quilting. There were bejeweled leggings. Boudoir lace tops and dresses. Thigh high boots, some laced up the back like corsets. Black bows on the models heads suggested Playboy Bunny ears.

The shoes were notable for their towering heels – pinched in like a woman’s waist in a look that could become a signature for the brand’s season.

A number of brightly colored, big-shouldered looks were reminiscent of the 1980s’s-era styles Mr. Jacobs showed in New York three weeks ago for his Mark Jacobs line.

Yet the overall effect was that of a very expensive house of ill repute – a rollicking good time one – where many employees carry logo-ed Louis Vuitton bags and other pricey accessories. Those accessories, rather than the clothes, are the source of this house’s profits.

Voila. Mr. Jacobs trotted out in a black kilt to take his bow at precisely 2:51 pm. — Christina Binkley

Associated Press

Beth Ditto at Jean-Paul Gaultier’s Fall 2009 fashion show during Paris fashion week.

Over the last three years Ms. Ditto has gone from nobody to superstar. She has been hailed as an icon by everyone from women weight activists to gay rights campaigners. She has appeared nude on a glossy magazine cover and has attacked major fashion brands for not selling clothes in big sizes.

Now the fashion industry has decided it can’t get enough of her. The Arkansas-born singer has been a fixture at this week’s fashion events. Whether at Stella McCartney or Chanel, rarely a day has gone by without her sitting in a front row seat at an exclusive runway show.

Talking after the Alexander McQueen’s show earlier this week, Ms. Ditto said that getting involved in fashion was a natural progression for her. “I like wearing clothes, so it made sense,” she says.

Ms. Ditto adds that the flow of invites increased after she appeared nude on the cover of Conde Nast’s new magazine, Love. Katie Grand, the editor of Love, explained in a letter, published in the magazine, that she was inspired by Ms. Ditto’s non-conformity.

“There are certain things I love in women and Beth Ditto has them all in droves,” Ms. Grand said. “She says the wrong things. She looks the wrong way. But she makes you think about what ‘the right way’ is, anyway.”

The crowd at Fendi’s party at the VIP club in Paris was equally bemused. As Ms. Ditto sang a repertoire of her new songs, she gradually got undressed until she was just wearing a pair of sequined underwear and a bra. In a final act of defiance she dived off stage onto several members of the audience. A laughing Kate Moss helped her back to her feet.

Despite the huge media scrum around her, Ms. Ditto is still coy about her role in the world of fashion. “I am not really a fashion icon,” she says. “I wouldn’t go that far.” –Max Colchester

In recent boom years, the price of luxury goods skyrocketed – in part because designers found there were few limits to the public consumption of luxury goods. Stores sold $1,200 shoes, $5,000 jackets, and diamond-studded watches to people who had never before spent so much on fashion.

That sort of shopping dropped came to a crashing halt in the fall, when retailers could hardly sell those same goods priced at 70% off. Many designers are now furious at retailers such as Saks and Neiman Marcus for holding such deep sales. They fear — correctly if history is a guide — that it could take years for consumers to be willing to pay full price for designer goods.

But isn’t part of the problem that prices got out of control? You can trick regular folks into spending too much on a pair of shoes once or twice. But if they skin the heel on those $1,200 pumps, or find they can’t alter the shoulders on a narrow-seamed but pricey jacket, they quickly register that the clothes’ value was lower than their price.

Many designers are currently trying to ratchet back prices and increase the wearability of their clothes, as I note in my On Style column today.

Now it’s your turn to speak up. What is a fair price for luxury – and what sort of service and quality do you expect of it? Executive-quality clothing won’t come at H&M prices. Yet how out-of-control did designer prices get during those now-over boom years? And how much do you think you should spend on an outfit for work or evening? –- Christina Binkley

It was all about aviator chic today at Hermès’s ready-to-wear show here in Paris.

After his raucous display last Saturday, designer Jean Paul Gaultier produced a show that was high in class and befitting of the timelessness that the house of Hermès seeks to embody.

Huge silver propellers whirled in the background as models clad in jazzed up leather flying hats and goggles made their way down the runway. The sound of planes soaring overhead echoed through the smoke filled room and rammed home the theme of the roaring ’20s.

Mr. Gaultier described after the show how he had been inspired by the photo of a female aviator from the 1920s. With her sweptback hair and prominent scarf, “she just had the classic Hermès look,” he says.

The collection was indeed classic. On show were a series of long brown leather trench coats with fur linings and loose cuffs. Brown crocodile skin jackets and black leggings also featured heavily. Mr. Gaultier did bring some spice the event with some seductive knee-high boots and short black leather skirts but the message here was very much “look but don’t touch.”

Overalls and beige knitwear are a far cry from the raunchy style that Mr. Gaultier normally serves up under his own brand. When asked how he was able to go from raw sex to demure restraint in the space of one collection, the Frenchman laughed exclaiming, “Well, it is all in me, trust me.” — Max Colchester

AFP/Getty Images

Alexander McQueen Fall 2009.

Mr. McQueen usually drums up hype by putting on unorthodox shows. It is not unknown for him to send wolves and amputees down the runway. These outlandish acts have earned him the reputation as fashion’s enfant terrible, a signature he seems reluctant to give up.

Today it was all about women with big lips, crazy hats and bad attitudes. Heavy dance music played as models stomped their way round a specially-constructed trash heap, which included a giant monster’s head.

The clothes became more and more elaborate as the show progressed. Starting out with black and white checkered tweed coats, we soon had women with car wheels on their heads going past and ballooning red and black striped dresses. By the time it got to the end of the show Mr. McQueen had gone into bad-boy overdrive. White feathers had been swept up to create an outrageous nest around a model’s head and a woman dressed as a giant black bird was seen making her way towards the flashing light bulbs.

But what does all this say about the McQueen woman? Is she a bizarre creature who enjoys peacocking with auto parts? She doesn’t care what people think of her? She likes to wear nice coats but insists on wearing huge dresses? The mystery remains.

That said, by Mr. McQueen’s standards this was probably a tame affair. Nothing exploded and dangerous animals were nowhere to be seen.

For what has been a pretty staid fashion week, it was a refreshing change from the norm. As the Englishman came out to bow, the crowds whooped with joy. But the message was a little too obvious: This was clearly about creating hype, not selling clothes. Who will buy a giant bird’s nest? — Max Colchester

Reuters

Chanel Fall 2009.

Sitting in the star-studded front row Princess Kasia Al-Thani, dressed head to toe in Chanel, made her admiration for the designer clear.

Looking around, the Polish-born Princess, who is married to a brother of the Emir of Qatar, was anguished that two other people were sporting the same black and white Chanel jacket as her.

But the Princess was safe in the knowledge that she had gone a step further than anyone else in the room. Despite having had her broken foot recently screwed back together, she was wearing a pair of very fine pearl-studded Chanel stilettos. “I just love them,” she said, wincing.

Princess Al-Thani, who recently founded the online luxury gift Internet site savoir-faire.com, was in good company.

Photographers snapped away as models Claudia Schiffer and Milla Jovovich made their way to their seats. Sitting next to Princess AI-Thani was jeweler Loree Rodkin,still basking in the glow of her Michelle Obama triumph. Since Ms. Obama wore Rodkin’s creations to four inauguration - related events things just haven’t been the same the L.A based designer says.

“When I got the call from the White House I was like, ‘Is this really for me?,’ ” Ms. Rodkin recalls, adding that orders have been flooding in since photos of Mrs. Obama wearing Ms. Rodkin’s rings and earrings were splashed across the world’s press. The fame came at price, however. As part of the deal she had to donate a pair of the diamond chandelier earrings she lent Ms. Obama to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Ms. Obama chose the most expensive pair presented to her, the designer notes.

The Lagerfeld faithful were duly awed by a Chanel collection inspired by the 19th century English dandy Beau Brummell. Mr. Lagerfeld’s sleek black designs stood out sharply on the Grand Palais’s white stage. Lace white cuffs and collars both featured heavily as did high-waisted black pants. The German born designer threw in a bit of color with a pair of loose green pants and some cozy pink knitwear tops. After the show he explained that he had chosen green because “it is the color of hope.”

As the crowds melted away, Princess Al -Thani concluded that she would probably buy some of the dresses on show. She said she particularly liked a white silk dress covered with a see through black silk veil. After all, she says, Mr. Lagerfeld “never disappoints”. — Max Colchester

Catwalking/Getty Images

Yves Saint Laurent, Fall 2009.

And then the news this week that the YSL brand he gave birth to – now owned by PPR’s Gucci Group – has turned a profit for the first time in years. After all that, it might seem trite to talk about shoulders, but YSL’s are the shoulders of the season.

You see, I thought that we had seen every possible take on extended shoulders. Shoulders have been the silhouette of the Fall ’09 season. For reasons we may never understand, designer after designer has attempted to put their own signature on the Power Shoulders of the 1980s. Most have created a look that would appeal to a dominatrix ready to shove her stiletto heel through someone’s neck. They look a little . . . harsh.

Stefano Pilati fixed all that with a simple dart. For YSL’s show tonight at Paris’ Palais du Tokyo, he created a number of suits, jackets and dresses whose shoulders offered the 2009 version of 1985 while managing to seem graceful and feminine. No poofs, no hard squares, no epaulettes, no Grace Jones.

I asked Mr. Pilati, who was looking happy and relieved holding a glass of champagne after his show, how he did it. “I hate the idea of epaulettes,” he said. “So I extended the shoulder with a dart …so it dropped in a feminine way.” No padding, “no lining even.” Just soft fabric folded over the edge of the shoulder with a dart, leaving volume but no power-pillow.

Back in the 1980s, when heavily padded power shoulders were in, women were being told they had to compete with men in the business world. Those heavily padded shoulders epitomized that. Now we’d like to think we can work together without trying to be something we’re not. So maybe it’s a bit feminist to want to be feminine.

The shoulders, though, were only a detail in the collection. Mr. Pilati used some techno fabrics – wools fused with foam using thermal molding techniques from the automotive industry created couture-like effects such as a dimpled dove gray wool coat, for instance. There was a series of white poplin blouses tucked into gray felt skirts. And an elegant crinkled black evening dress.

Less memorable were the black leather overalls – it’s hard to imagine how that fits with the elegant YSL image. But never mind. The brand is profitable, so the designer must get some leeway. –- Christina Binkley

With Hollywood uber-stylist Rachel Zoe in the front row doing interview after interview – and an audience full of socialites and starlets – there’s little wonder why Giambattista Valli gets press without an iota of advertising. His strategy has been to get his clothes on the backs of oft-photographed women, and it’s been going gangbusters.

Yet Mr. Valli has the heart of an old-fashioned couturier – the kind who dressed a woman for the season, giving her daywear and eveningwear for every occasion.

His daywear for fall – which led the show – bordered on the minimal for Mr. Valli. There was a long black cape-coat and somber skirts with a longer silhouette than any we’ve seen proposed for this season – shin-length. There was a series of looks in big black-and-white plaid, trim pants. When he introduced pattern, he inched it along, starting with some blurry leopard-like prints in orange, black and gold.

Then day bloomed into evening- at first with prints that looked like the eyes of peacock feathers, followed by actual peacock feathers on a coat and then a skirt, fully feathered. And finally, dessert: a frothy coat of ostrich feathers.

Mr. Valli’s real skill at design showed in the way he handled a jumpsuit – a look that we’ve been seeing from other designers for several seasons, generally skin-hugging looks designed for women who are 6’2’’ and as thin as a nail. Mr. Valli’s version appeared almost to be a trim top tucked into a pair of reverse-pleated pants, - with the advantage of the body suit being that the pants appeared to float around the hip. And the look would work on many bodies – which means it could actually sell.

“Today, a woman is ten women a day,” Mr. Valli said backstage afterward, wearing his signature pearl necklace over a fine gauge knit sweater. And he’d be happy to dress every one of them. — Christina Binkley

Models at the Dolce & Gabbana fashion show last week drew stares with their see-through dresses, leather-ruffled stockings and wedge-heeled shoes. Another risky look on the runway was “Dahlia,” a deep crimson lip color the Milanese brand has been developing for two years with Procter & Gamble Co. The fashion house that parlayed provocative clothes and advertising into a $2 billion-plus luxury business now wants to seduce American women with makeup. Designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana next month will launch a line of luxury cosmetics at Saks Fifth Avenue. It includes $59 foundation, $30 lipstick and $44 rouge in gold-toned packaging. Dolce & Gabbana The Makeup marks P&G’s first foray into upscale cosmetics, a huge jump from its drugstore CoverGirl and Max Factor brands. WSJ

The emotion of womanhood married to a casual masculine confidence - that is the message from an exceptionally powerful Paris season. It has been spelled out in specifics over fashion’s long weekend of shows. Liquid drapes for womanly shapes have taken over from girly dressing - most often shown with tailoring as the distaff side. Beauty is the goal, for this autumn 2009 season has drawn a definitive line under the “ugly” aesthetic. You could say that fashion has reached a certain maturity, but that sounds stodgy - the clothes are not heavy, even if solid fabrics have often taken over from the ethereal. IHT

Modesty in young women’s clothing is getting a boost from the dismal economy. When consumer spending was in overdrive, retailers could sell to the masses and ignore the more muted voices asking for, say, a decent supply of sleeved shirts or prom dresses that show more fabric than skin. Now, however, it’s the rare retailer who’s willing to take the chance of turning off any possible customer. Whether it’s more of a fiscal or moral shift, understated girls’ clothing may indeed be making a comeback. The trend is forcing a shift in the way retailers do business. Just as teen retailers have come to target the gothic girl, the diva and the street-wear aficionado, they now must recognize that skin is simply not always in. USA Today

AnnTaylor Stores Corp. on Friday reported a wider fiscal fourth-quarter net loss and disclosed new cost-cutting plans as sales fell nearly 20%. The struggling women’s apparel company said it would slash capital spending and increase planned store closings to 163 this year. Its shares dropped Friday as hopes for a turnaround faded. WSJ

The British government’s plans to increase value-added tax by Jan. 1 will be a “costly distraction” to U.K. retailers at their busiest time of year and should be delayed by at least a month, the British Retail Consortium said. Raising the VAT to 17.5% from 15% would cost the retail industry about 90 million pounds ($127 million), the trade industry body said in an e-mailed statement. The government cut VAT to the lower rate last December seeking to spur consumer spending as the U.K. headed for its worst recession since at least 1980. The reduction has so far failed to benefit stores, according to 76% of businesses surveyed by the British Chamber of Commerce last month. U.K. Bloomberg

Lindsay Lohan, who introduced a line of leggings in the fall, is launching a self-tanning mist in a venture she partnered on with Lorit Simon, a tanning expert who has been bronzing Lohan for events and fashion spreads for years. The mist, called Sevin Nyne, is a hybrid of Ms. Simon’s own blend but for a mist application rather than an airbrush machine. Sevin Nyne, which are a play on Lohan’s favorite numbers, falls under the newly formed parent Lorit LLC DBA Sevin Nyne, which holds the intellectual property, and will market and distribute the brand. WWD

Deloitte, the administrators to U.K. clothing retailer Principles, said Saturday they have sold the majority of Principles’ stock to Debenhams PLC, the high street department store. Deloitte said Debenhams will be acquiring most of Principles’ shop stock, including that in the 121 concessions within its stores. Debenhams will also be given a temporary non-exclusive license to continue operating the Principles brand. Sixty-six Principles high street stores will be closed, said Deloitte, although the remaining 19 will continue to trade. WSJ

Hartmarx Corp. could close its Hickey Freeman Fifth Avenue flagship in New York City. Hartmarx Corp., Hickey Freeman’s parent, filed for bankruptcy in January and needs to pare expenses as it puts together a reorganization plan. As part of the Chapter 11 proceedings, the company has closed or plans to close three Bobby Jones-Hickey Freeman outlets as well as one full-price Bobby Jones store in Honolulu. WWD