FASHION FANTASY

Quiet luxury may be the trend du jour, but it took a back seat during the recent haute couture shows in Paris, where opulence and high drama swept the runways

- BREE PLAYER

STÉPHANE ROLLAND

Paying homage to the late opera soprano Maria Callas, Stéphane Rolland staged a theatrical couture show in Paris' extravagant Opéra Garnier. Models floated up the marble staircase and walked through the theatre (where guests were seated) to a soundtrack of Callas singing. The designer was inspired by photographs of Callas during the '60s and said, "Those images really show what was the glam and the elegance in Paris at that moment."

IRIS VAN HERPEN

The Dutch designer looked to all things aquatic - and the possibility of humans inhabiting the ocean when seeking inspiration for her fantastical creations. I come from the Netherlands, where we are below sea level," said van Herpen backstage.

SCHIAPARELLI

Following the controversy of the faux taxidermy at Schiaparelli's spring/summer couture show in January, the creative director of the house, Daniel Roseberry, decided to try a new tack. "I wanted this season to feel much more free, spontaneous, painterly," he said. "The idea of the last collection was really to suck the air out of the room. It's what happened. I think the idea [for autumn/winter] was to really try to keep the focus on the collection and go deeper and deeper into the techniques we wanted to show."

GIORGIO ARMANI