Birds sing for Kenzo, models dance for Galliano

By Kerstin Gehmlich

PARIS (Reuters) - Laughing models in ruffled silk dresses danced with a stuffed ostrich at John Galliano's fashion show on Saturday, as the eccentric British designer turned his catwalk into a giant filmset.

Throwing kisses at supermodel Naomi Campbell who sat in the front row, girls in silver tops with sparkling collars and sharp suit jackets paraded past an old-fashioned merry-go-round and underneath a fish hanging from the ceiling.

Galliano, whose past collections have been based on themes ranging from ghosts to geishas to goths, is one of several designers who presented their summer collections in theatrical settings in Paris this week.

On Kenzo's catwalk, birds squawked and chirped earlier on Saturday in a show inspired by an Amazonian rainforest.

On Friday, British designer Alexander McQueen let models emerge underneath the legs of a large spider and at Chanel, the girls paraded out on a star-covered catwalk dominated by a giant version of the fashion house's signature bow.

"Each designer has his own style and creates his own universe," Belgian actress Natacha Regnier told Reuters at Galliano's show, where models presented layered cardigans with diagonal buttons, wrapped together by ribbons in the back.

"It's very atmospheric, like in 1930s films," Regnier said, looking at mirror balls and birdcages hanging from the ceiling.

PARROTS

Kenzo designer Antonio Marras took his audience to the Amazon, sending out models in voluminous, A-line dresses, as parrots spread their wings on videoscreens hanging inside a curtain of fake greenery and flowers on the catwalk.

Birdsong was played over loudspeakers.

"Amazonia (is) a world of nature, dreams, colors and enchantment ... No place in the world could be more fascinating," Marras said of the show, in which he presented bright yellow skirts with large sequined flowers.

Vivid colors also dominated the runway at McQueen's presentation of his spring and summer collection late on Friday, a show he dedicated to Isabella Blow, the flamboyant British fashion icon who is credited with launching his career.

Blow, one of the industry's great eccentrics, died at the age of 48 in May. She had been renowned for helping, discovering and nurturing several designers such as McQueen, including Philip Treacy, one the world's most famous milliners.

McQueen's models walked out into a Paris concert hall filled with Blow's favorite scent Fracas, wearing extravagant Treacy hats in a tribute to Blow's signature elaborate headgear.

One model presenting a grey dress with a bright red belt wore a hat made up of dozens of red butterflies, covering half of her face. High-waisted petticoat skirts were followed by a long black dress with colorful feathers attached to the back.