Paris Fashion Week: Elle Macpherson and Laetitia Casta return to the catwalk for Louis Vuitton’s celebration of womanly curves

March 11th, 2010

He banned celebrities from his own label show in New York last month, but for his Louis Vuitton catwalk show yesterday, Marc Jacobs welcomed stars with open arms.
And there were familiar faces both on and off the catwalk, as bright young Brits Alexa Chung, Daisy Lowe and Pixie Geldof watched supermodels Laetitia Casta and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley walk the runway.
David Walliams’ fiancée Lara Stone was also on the catwalk, but it was 46-year-old Elle Macpherson who made a rare appearance by way of finale, stealing the show in a rose-coloured crinoline gown.

She joined some of the industry’s biggest names including Leonardo Dicaprio’s on-off girlfriend Bar Refaeli, M&S face Noemie Lenoir, Coco Rocha, Jessica Stam and Lily Donaldson.
The setting was no less impressive: Models strode around the 16-jet fountain in the courtyard of The Louvre, to the theme music from the Fifties French film And God Created Woman.
And Bardot-esque curves were the order of the day. While there was nary a skirt above the knee, corsets and nip-waisted jackets gave way to womanly hips and breasts for a refined sexiness.
All ladylike elegance, models with hair pulled back in girlish ponytails wore elbow-length leather gloves, and kitten heels adorned with bows.
And while the full-length gowns might be more appropriate for an A-list awards ceremony than your average party, next season’s accessories promise to fill Louis Vuitton’s coffers nicely, as almost every model carried a piece from the latest range of handbags – most notably the Speedy, a Thirties design that had been reinvented in myriad ways.

The designer explained how his aim had been to create a collection that appealed to a wider market.
‘Designers are always saying they’re going to do a collection for women, but then every girl on the runway is under twenty,’ he said.
‘I wanted a variety of ages and sizes. We set out to cast gorgeous women – women who feel happy to put their make-up on, get dressed up, get all their accessories.
‘It’s a bit old-fashioned, I know, but I think it’s nice for a change.’

Indeed the halterneck and strapless bustier shapes that he showed would be flattering on any woman, as would his palette of dusty pinks and greys – a feature that was not missed by the critics in the front row.
Vogue’s Dolly Jones called the show ‘ravishing’. She said: ‘Truly a celebration of womanhood, the full skirts were caught into a triple pleat over the back to make even [model Karolina] Kurkova look buxom, while breasts were spilling over the top of dresses that, but for that unmissable detail, were demure, with high beribboned waists.’
Avril Mair at Elle UK added: ‘Miuccia Prada embraced the curve back in Milan, but this was a more French affair: the girls walking round the Louvre’s dancing fountains, ponytails bouncing, each decorated with bows and velvet ribbon belts… It was a seductive performance.’

source: dailymail.co.uk