Lacroix and Kenzo

PARIS, July 6, 2006 – Today was the second day of couture, and Christian Lacroix show is always the highlight for me. If ever a designer understood the art of haute couture, it would be Lacroix. Now if he could have just piped some of the air conditioned air from backstage into the stifling courtyard of L’École des Beaux Arts where his guests were sitting, he would have had a much happier set of couture clients.

Later in the evening, the Kenzo garden party was in full flower on Place des Victoires. The House had installed turf over the cobblestones, closed an entire neighborhood to traffic, and set up a veritable jungle of trucked in trees. The result was less an English high tea, than a Japanese exposé on exoticism (with cocktails). While ushers kept guests well lubricated with cold glasses of Moët et Chandon, waiters hoisted about birdcages full of intricate hors d’oeuvres. The new boutique, which was supposed to be the guest of honor, sort of got lost to all the enticements outdoors.

– Timothy Hagy