But an icy blue crocodile skin waistcoat with a kimono collar was a reminder of the flamboyance of the house's founder, who has retired from ready-to-wear to focus on his hugely successful line of perfumes, which include Angel and Alien. Elsewhere, both Kenzo and John Galliano drew inspiration from India, tapping into the current trend for ethnic-flavored fashion, as luxury groups focus their growth plans on emerging markets to counteract a slump in Western economies.The theme was treated rather literally at Kenzo. Models whose eyes were smeared with black kohl paraded in silk jackets encrusted with burnished copper coins and feather-light cotton dhoti pants.
Galliano shook up the Indian references (Madras checks and long tunics) with dashes of punk and techno attitude. Models stomped down an asphalt strip in a go-karting venue outside Paris wearing combat pants featuring a zip-off kilt panel in the back.
Young men in full drag queen makeup paraded in swimsuits and pink wigs in an homage to British writer and gay icon Quentin Crisp.
