Au revoir Paris. Paris Fashion Week is over and concludes the fall 2010 collections at the main Fashion Week shows, New York, London, Milan and Paris. Real Style Network has been giving you reviews of the hottest fashion shows from the Runway collections from around the world. Check out all the fashion videos here and see exclusive interviews from Swarovki.tv here.

In our final look at runway shows from Paris we are reviewing the following designers: Valentino, Givenchy and Yves. St. Laurent.

VALENTINO

The Valentino design team of Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli created a feminine collection for Fall. The theme of the show was ruffles, draping and opulence. Every outfit had a ruffle of some shape on it. Day jackets had ruffled collars and evening dresses were made of ruffled tiers. The day garments were structured and well tailored jackets and pants. The evening wear was lighter and many of the dresses and blouses were sheer. the predominant colours of the collection was nudes, tans , and lighter shades with a pop of red. The new design team has been on a quest to attract a younger following since Valentino retired. Some pieces were lovely, but the collection definitely lacked old style Valentino glamour.

GIVENCHY

Givenchy showed a pared down collection for Fall/Winter 2010 with lots of lace and leather. The collection featured many masculine cut well-tailored blazers and coats with snowflake printed shirts and lace blouses peeking from underneath. The ski /alpine influence , mostly in sweaters and in cardigans was the only departure from otherwise a tailored collection. Ankle length trousers and leather skirts were popular. For evening wear ,Givenchy showed simple crepe and velvet gowns. Crystals and ostrich feathers adorned the dresses. The line had a colour palette that was predominantly black, with nude and red accent pieces. Leather, chiffon and lace was big in the collection. See the show here:

YVES SAINT LAURENT

The Fall/Winter 2010 Yves Saint Laurent line had what some describe as a monastic feel. The models wore mainly black with white blouses giving them the appearance of nuns. Long rosary-like necklaces adorned the garments backing up the theme. For Runway drama, some of the looks were shown with plastic covering over them. Cocktail dresses in bright jewel tones brightened the sombre mood. Capes of all lengths were the outwear of choice and accompanied many of the outfits. Overall the collection played it very safe and had a sophisticated if perhaps a bit of a matronly appeal. Watch the Yves Saint Laurent fashion show here:

Read Real Style Network’s other Paris Fashion Week reviews here.

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]

Diane Von Furstenberg is making a move to interior design. The fashion designer is decorating 20 rooms and suites for Claridge’s in London. WWD reports Diane Von Furstenberg has a long history of staying at the hotel. She calls it “the most glamorous hotel in the world.” No details have been released on how her style will translate into room decor. The Diane Von Furstenberg rooms at Claridge’s are expected to be revealed in June.

Project Runway winner Christian Siriano is returning to television with his own special. ‘Christian Siriano: Having a Moment’ will air on Bravo on Monday, April 5th. He is one of the few Project Runway designers who has made a big name for himself in the fashion world. He has dressed celebrities like Rihanna and Christina Hendricks. Christian Siriano’s special will give fans a backstage look at his line from start to finish including him balancing his personal life with work.

The Lady Dior Saga starring Marion Cotillard continues with a new video released this week. Marion shows off her singing talents in a video where she plays Lady Rouge. Marion Cotillard sings Franz Ferdinand’s “Eyes of Mars” in a romantic hotel room and a large empty theatre. The Dior video was directed by Jonas Akerlund, who has made music videos for Madonna and U2. The video was supposed to debut along with the new Dior collection on March 5th, but was leaked online early. Watch the video here:

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]

Dolce & Gabbana have been the talk of Milan Fashion Week which wrapped up yesterday.

Dolce & Gabbana’s Fall/Winter 2010 collection was the 50th fashion collection for the design pair. This is also their 25th year showing at Milan Fashion Week and the show celebrated this incredible feat.

The designers stayed true to their traditional looks of black, silk, and lace with a smattering of their signature leopard animal prints. The first part of the collection showed fitted jackets with sexy and very short lacy skirts. Followed with an homage to Chanel with Chanel style suits and continued the lady like fashion trend for fall echoed by other designers with demure fitted over the knee polka dot dresses.

Take a look at the video here:

[Photo via Steffano Gabbana]

The runways of Milan heated up yesterday as more of the top names in fashion showed why they are the masters of their craft.

DSquared

Canada’s own DSquared began the day with a racy fashion show. This fashion duo are known for their exciting shows, so it should be no surprise the show started with a model being lowered to the runway in a cage where she was met by male models wearing only gold briefs. DSquared’s Fall/Winter 2010 collection continued in that fashion. Fur lined coats were worn with nothing but red lingerie. Models wore little black dresses with thigh-high red boots and red latex gloves. The line was all black and red with accessories made out of bone. They finished off the show with a red and black feathered strapless dress.

The movie The Matrix inspired the DSquared line. WWD said when you stripped away the thematic runway show there were some nice pieces including a leather and wool trench, tailored jackets and 40’s style dresses.

Emporio Armani

Emporio Armani, the more youthful of the Armani lines, showed a well-tailored feminine line at Milan Fashion Week. Emporio Armani continued the fur trend with coats of all cuts. Draped and airy skirts were a popular look on the runway. On the flip side, there were also tailored suits and sharp leather jackets. The big sunglasses and earrings gave the line a retro feel. The hemlines were shorter than what we saw on the runways of New York. The colours were similar with black, grey and off-white.

Flare Canada’s editor Lisa Tant said on Twitter: Emporio Armani was what the maestro does best - soft suitings, petal details, flawless accessories and a palette of pale grey.

Versace

Versace started their show with the noise of a revving motorcycle, preparing everyone for what they were about to see. The Versace line was a glamorous rocker collection. Moto-cross jackets, metallic mini skirts, and skintight leather outfits were seen on the runway. Tight evening wear gowns came in bright neon colours with exposed zippers and cutouts. To finish the show a mirrored container rose up from the floor holding all of the models giving everyone in the room a view of the eye popping looks.

Elle’s Joe Zee described the line on Twitter as “Sex And The Runway: Motorcross babes @versace with knee-padded pants, zippered jkts & coats and asymmetrical cutouts on gowns and boots.”

[photos via Leighton Lifton and Next Models NYC]

From New York to London, fashion weeks around the world continue. This week the stage was set in London to show some of fashion’s iconic names.

Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood’s Red Label catwalk show is one of the highlights for London Fashion Week this season.

The collection paired unique and beautifully tailored pieces together when they didn’t seem to belong. Westwood’s line included printed skirts and shaggy jackets in the same edgy outfits. Tailored coats of all lengths and printed leggings completed the looks. The colours of the Vivienne Westwood line included pink, red, black, blue and purple. Westwood’s Red Label show followed the trend of oversized and draped looks that we saw during New York Fashion Week.

Vivienne Westwood used her clothes to talk about things that are really important to her. Many of the shirts on the catwalk featured messages about climate change on them. The Telegraph reports Vivienne Westwood also included the Fashion For Relief t-shirt in her Red Label show.

Watch the Vivienne Westwood Red Label show here:

Burberry

Burberry’s London Fashion Week show was highly anticipated because it was the world’s first 3D fashion show. Burberry also had a Twitter takeover. The fashion line invited two members of the press to update the Burberry twitter during the show. The Telegraph said this season’s show was a salute to the British military. The collection included many styles of military jackets (trench coats, flying jackets and naval jackets) and lots of khaki shades. The line included luxurious fur coats, lace, satin, tight dresses and over the knee boots. The New York Times called the line “young, easy and desirable.”

See highlights of the Burberry Fall/Winter 2010 London Fashion Week show here:

[photos via Leighton Lifton and Kari Estrada]

Wow. What an almost complete departure from his 80’s fashion collection for spring 2010. Marc Jacobs is most certainly a fashion designer of many contradictions and his own opinions about fashion.

This new fall 2010 fashion collection is classic, conservative and has a retro feel of the 1930’s and 40’s. Gone are the stark colours of the 80’s and back in are the earth tones. Camel, gray and taupe colours dominated the fashion collection, which included over the knee skirted suits, fur collared wrap coats, loose dresses, long cardigans and longer jackets. The few trousers that were shown, were loose and high waisted or part of 3 piece business suit (yes the vest was back).

The A-line dominated the silhouette. Fur trimmed coats and knit sweaters were a standout look. As to accessories, clothes were shown with booties, lady like smaller purses and with what is surely a nod to his cheekier fashion sensibilities, socks worn with pumps.

Take a look here at the photos from Marc Jacobs RTW Fall 2010 Fashion Collection and take a look at the video: