Real Style Network has been following all of the action from Paris Fashion Week and we have waited to bring you the highlights and reviews from the top shows. Paris Fashion Week is THE event of the season with the biggest names in fashion presenting their Fall/Winter 2010 collections on the runway. For our first wrap up we have chosen the following designers: Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Jean Paul Gaultier.

CHANEL

In one of the most talked about shows of the week, Karl Lagerfeld imported a 265-ton iceberg from Sweden into the middle of Paris’ Grand Palais for the Chanel Fall 2010 show. The –4 temperatures needed to allow the iceberg to be the centerpiece of the set accentuated the cozy Chanel collection shown. Unlike other designers this season, Karl Lagerfeld chose to use faux fur in the Chanel collection. There was a lot of it. Full body fur coats, pants and boots were all a part of the collection. Leather jackets, miniskirts and shirts were trimmed with more faux fur. Are you going to be wearing a fur skirt on the street? Perhaps not, but the message for next season from top designers is definitely soft and furry, would look great in a vest, boots, hats and even bags.

LOUIS VUITTON

For Fall 2010, Marc Jacobs was inspired by old cinema when he created the Louis Vuitton collection. He cast curvy supermodels like Elle Macpherson, Bar Refaeli and Adriana Lima to model the clothes. Tweed suits and wool and chiffon dresses with nipped in waists appeared in the collection. Jacobs accentuated the models’ curves with tight corsets and hip hugging skirts. Skirts were ¾ length made of heavy materials. It was a ladylike collection following trends we have seen in Christian Dior and Marc Jacobs’ own collection. Of course, as it is Louis Vuitton, the handbags were exquisite. Marc Jacobs reinvented the classic Louis Vuitton Speedy bag with sequins, lace and fur. Watch the Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2010 fashion show here:

JEAN PAUL GAULTIER

Jean Paul Gaultier took his inspiration for this season from cultures around the world. Hints of styles from Morocco, Russia, Greece, China and more could be seen in his designs for fall. Gaultier told the Telegraph, “It’s all about a journey around the world, and sometimes it includes several countries in one outfit, even Europe.” The styles included African headdresses, Chinese silks, European embroidery, Mongolian furs and Spanish dresses. He combined these things with modern street wear like sweatpants, knitted sweaters, pea coats and leather jackets.

[photos via Marie Claire Au, Kari Estrada, and Jimshe809]

The final collection by late fashion designer Alexander McQueen was shown to a small exclusive group at Paris Fashion Week yesterday.

The final 16 Alexander McQueen looks were shown at the Hôtel de Clermont-Tonnerre, the headquarters of Francois Pinault, who owns majority shares in the McQueen brand.

The final uncompleted collection was hand draped by the designer. The pieces were luxurious in rich gold, red and black colours. The garments were beautifully embroidered and accessorized with feathers and stained glass jewelry. According to this article the fashion looks were reminiscent of pre-1800’s art. Works of arts were captured on the fabric used in the collection. There was a strong religious iconography within the clothes.

The mood in the room was said to be somber and spooky. Models walked slowly to the same opera music Alexander McQueen listened to while he created the pieces. The Telegraph reports once the last look passed through the room an aide whispered, “There is no more.”

We wait now to find out what will happen to the Alexander McQueen brand. The company has said that it will continue on. Rumour was designer Gareth Pugh would step in at Alexander McQueen but Pugh released a statement saying he is not in talks to become the Creative Director for Alexander McQueen at this time.

The death of Alexander McQueen has shaken up the fashion world. His death came as New York Fashion Week began putting a dark cloud over the event. Since that time many have paid tribute to the designer. See Real Style Network’s coverage of Alexander McQueen fashion and news here.

[photo via tu_ly]

Fashion house Ungaro showed at Paris Fashion Week yesterday without the input of their “artistic advisor” Lindsay Lohan sparking rumours she has been fired.

After just one season it appears that Lindsay Lohan has not been asked to return to her role at Ungaro. Asim Abdullah, the owner of Ungaro, told WWD she wasn’t involved in the fall/winter 2010 collection shown in Paris.

Lindsay Lohan is in Paris for fashion week, but she didn’t even attend the Ungaro show as a spectator. Some speculated that Lindsay Lohan wasn’t invited. Chief designer Estrella Archs took her bow at the end of the show alone.

Lindsay Lohan’s fashion debut for Ungaro back in October was a disaster for the company. Many buyers didn’t purchase the collection. The company continued to stand by Lindsay even when Emanuel Ungaro himself spoke out against the collaboration. The man who hired Lindsay, CEO Mounir Moufarrige left Ungaro in December amidst rumours that he couldn’t work with her.

There has been no official word on whether Lindsay Lohan has been let go.

Paris Fashion Week continues with more of the most luxurious names in fashion. Yesterday Lanvin and Dior presented their Fall/Winter 2010 collections on the runway.

LANVIN

Always the purveyor of glamour and luxury, Lanvin showed a dark tribal themed collection at Paris Fashion Week. As we have been seeing on other runways the Lanvin collection used dark colours, fur and oversized jackets with bold shoulders. Powers suits and nipped in waists made up the day looks. Silk evening  gowns were softly draped. Outfits were accessorized with chunky necklaces, feathers and wooden bracelets.

DIOR

Christian Dior showed their line yesterday morning at Paris Fashion Week. This sexy collection went retro, really retro. Back to Victorian England retro. The lines had a romantic 19th century feel to it with colours ranging from pale grey, green and pink with beiges and browns added to the mix. The romantic feel was also present in light ruffles , draping and embroidery. Many of the light dresses were silky and sheer and sexily draped the body. The makeup on the models was absolutely gorgeous with luscious eyes and lips perhaps signifying a return to a stronger makeup colour palette for fall. At the end of the fashion show, John Galliano came out wearing a ruffled shirt and riding boots. A nod to his equestrian theme from Dior’s haute couture show . 

See highlights from the Dior show here:

[photos via David Thomm]

See Karl Lagerfeld and Hussein Chalayan live on Real Style Network this Sunday starting at 4 am EST, but don’t worry if you miss it. The repeats will be streamed all day long and you can see lots of other previous runway shows and backstage interviews with fashion designers.

Real Style Network has partnered with Swarovski Crystal in hosting Swarovki-branded web tv feed to stream live fashion shows from the Runways of Europe.  Swarovki, is of course the world leader in cut crystals, which adorn amongst other things some of the most exclusive fashion outfits.

The editors at Real Style network are loving the live shows and besides how could we could we refuse an invitation like this:

“Swarovski has selected who they feel to be the most credible fashion bloggers in the industry to partner with and would like to invite you to join us in this initiative.”

Hope you enjoy Swarovski TV as much as we do. Make sure to check it often as new content is uploaded regularly. Click here to watch the videos.

The fashion elite are back in Paris for another round of fabulous fashion shows. Some of the biggest names in fashion are scheduled to hit the catwalks of Paris with a new Fall/Winter 2010 collection. Yesterday the first of the exclusive fashion shows began with Balenciaga and Balmain.

Balenciaga

Balenciaga showed a very structured, 60’s inspired collection yesterday in Paris. The silhouettes were square with a geometric pattern running through many of the designs. Fabrics included everything from silk and cashmere to paper and cardboard. Words were applied to some of the outfits using perforated paper. There were also more traditional looks of knitwear and cropped pants. Nicolas Ghesquiere departed from the generally dark and/or subdued palette for fall shown by other designers and instead chose brighter shades of orange and mustard through the collection.

Balmain

Balmain continued their trend of glamorous rocker style during Paris Fashion Week. The collection was inspired by Prince’s 70’s and 80’s fashion style. There were lots of strong shoulders and sparkling outfits on the Balmain runway. Pantsuits and mini dresses made up the collection. The jackets were well tailored and fitted. Metallic sequins, chains and beads adorned the clothes. See the Balmain runway show here:

[Balenciaga photos via Anne Slowey]

A dark cloud looms over the opening of London Fashion Week today since the shocking death of fashion designer Alexander McQueen. London Fashion Week will celebrate his life and designs this week in a number of ways.

This morning, Sarah Brown, wife of the British Prime Minister, opened London Fashion Week with a tribute to the late designer. ABC News reports that Brown called the event a “reflective time with sadness at the passing.”

The British Fashion Council created a tribute wall in the main tent at Somerset House dedicated to the fashion designer. Visitors will be able to write notes of condolence to McQueen and his family. At the end of London Fashion Week the notes will be put into a book for the McQueen family, according to WWD.

In another tribute, images of McQueen’s designs will be displayed during London Fashion Week on a wall of iPods. Two thousand pictures of his designs will be displayed. Metro UK says organizers hope visitors will reflect on his contribution to the fashion world.

Despite his death, the Alexander McQueen line will carry on. Robert Polet, the president and chief executive of Gucci Group, announced that Alexander McQueen’s last collection will be shown during Paris Fashion Week on March 9th and 10th. It will be a presentation, not a tradition runway show, according to Marie Claire. Plans for the future of the fashion line have not yet been revealed.

For the final show of Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week, the house of Valentino showed a fashion collection with hopes to attract a younger audience.

Sheer chiffon dresses and leggings in pale nudes and bright neon colours dazzled on the runway. There were lots of ruffles and the line had a dream like quality with many of the models being blindfolded while walking.

With short hemlines and asymmetrical tops, don’t be surprised to see young Hollywood in these gowns on the red carpet soon.

While many critics are commenting on how far from the original vision of Valentino the collection is, Marie Claire reports that the Valentino designers wanted to “create a sense of ‘magic and fantasy’ in a ‘virtual Eden’.”

On the final day of Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week, lucky viewers got to see one of the wildest show of the event as Jean Paul Gaultier got inspired by Mexico.

This year, Jean Paul Gaultier showed what ABC News is calling his strongest collection in several seasons. Many blogs are comparing the line to a scene straight out of Avatar. Mariachi music played and sombreros were worn in the line that Jean Paul Gaultier says was inspired by the Mayans. The clothes feel native with rich blues and turquoises contrasting the armor and long braids worn by the models.

His haute couture fashion line consisted of pant suits, gowns made of armor and “Aztec princess cocktail dresses made from woven palm fronds.” (ABC News).

Fashion Television’s Jeanne Becker was tweeting live from the Jean Paul Gaultier show saying:

As wild as JPG sometimes gets, he has a knack for being wonderfully realistic too. First wearability, then fantasy. Ole!!!

JPG’s riff on exoticism and romance have been captured perfectly. Jungle looks coming at us now. Lush, tribal, stellar!

See photos of the Jean Paul Gaultier fashion show here.  Photo courtesy Dariovander twicpic.

As Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week continued, the Elie Saab haute couture fashion show contained some gorgeous gowns made for the red carpet. The fashion designer is a celebrity favorite, having had everyone from Beyonce, Heidi Klum to Marion Cotillard wear his gowns at the major award ceremonies.

Beautifully draped floor length gowns floated down the runway in light airy fabrics.  The colour pallet was mainly nudes with some pastels in the mix. The show ended with a large white wedding gown complete with sparkles, a train and a long flowing veil.

See the luxurious Elie Saab fashion show here.

While some of the designs are wild, this is haute couture week. These outfits are for the ultra-elite who have $20,000 to spend on a dress. For the rest of us, this is art.