Straight from Paris: Nina Ricci, Balenciaga, Balmain and more

Looks from Nina Ricci and Balenciaga.

Nina Ricci: Don’t let the slight build and gentle manner fool you. Beneath his delicate exterior, Olivier Theyskens is one intrepid voyager. It’s almost certain that the Nina Ricci collection he showed Thursday was his last for the house. And whether he conceived it as a creative kiss-off to the powers that be at Puig or as an audition for his next job, the clothes were a fantastical journey through fashion of the most spectacular sort. Which is to say that Theyskens didn’t succumb to the constant pressure to conform and commercialize, though there were plenty of real clothes in this highly imaginative mix… click HERE for more

Balenciaga: “High tech is over,” Nicolas Ghesquiere declared before showing his Balenciaga collection. “And the clubbing.” True and true. But not the way Ghesquiere puts forth a bold manifesto to spectacular effect. He said he wanted to keep the collection very French; hence his change of venue from an in-house showroom all slick and tricked out with edgy lighting to a series of salons at one of Paris’ most storied hotels, the Crillon, with its glorious views of the Place de la Concorde…. click HERE for more

Looks from Balmain and Rick Owens.

Balmain: It’s been several seasons since Balmain’s Christophe Decarnin sounded the rallying cry for the Eighties revival that has taken over a good part of fashion. And for fall, the sexy excess continued in an abundance of crystals, sequins, studs and, obviously, shoulders. He co-opted the last days of disco in flashy T-shirts and silk parachute pants mixed with his signature blazers and super-short dresses, some trailing black silk trains…. click HERE for more

Rick Owens: As the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That mantra has boded well for Rick Owens, who is nothing but consistent in his girls’ Goth vision: colossal funnel collars, sculpted monastic-like shapes, slouchy drop-crotch pants, and so on. And the first half of the show — in black and charcoal gray — served as a stylish reminder of why his clothes are so cultish. (The clique of edgily dressed young types at his show was another.)…click HERE for more

Catch up with all the latest runway news from Paris at WWD.com.

Photos: Giovanni Giannoni.