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Coinciding with the pop star Taylor Swift, designer Sarah Burton embarked on her Showgirl period. For her second outing as the creative director of Givenchy, Burton turned up the volume with collars adorned with sparkling rhinestones along the décolletage, rich peach-colored maribou plumes, a pocket-rocket cocktail dress in bold crimson leather, and Naomi Campbell in a tailored tuxedo blazer worn open over a minimalist lace-adorned bra.

A New Identity

Burton's tenure at Givenchy less than a year, but Alexander McQueen’s long-term right-hand woman has already established a new identity for the brand and for herself. Givenchy, the iconic residence of the actress Audrey Hepburn and the little black dress, has an immaculate bloodline of glamour that extends from the French capital to Tinseltown, but it is a relative minnow as a business. Earlier creative directors had largely embraced urban fashion and utility-coded metallic accents, but Burton is reviving the sophistication.

"I wanted it to be provocative and alluring and to expose flesh," Burton noted backstage. "In efforts to empower women, we often turn to masculine elements, but I wanted to examine female emotional intelligence, and dressing and undressing."

Subtle seduction was evident, too, in an evening shirt in supple white leather. "Each woman is unique," Burton commented. "Sometimes when I’m casting, a model puts on an outfit and it becomes clear that she prefers not to wear heels. Therefore, I adjust the outfit."

Red Carpet Revival

Givenchy is rebuilding its presence in high-profile occasion wear. Burton has dressed Timothée Chalamet in a pale yellow formal suit at the Academy Awards, and Kaia Gerber in a classic ballerina-style gown of dark lace at the cinematic event in Venice.

Schiaparelli’s Artistic Comeback

Schiaparelli, the surrealist fashion label, has been resurgent under the American designer Daniel Roseberry. The following year, the V&A Museum will host the premier British exhibition on Schiaparelli, exploring the work of the founder Elsa Schiaparelli and the brand she created.

"You don’t buy Schiaparelli, you collect Schiaparelli," Roseberry said backstage.

Clients of Schiaparelli need no showcase to tell them that these garments are artistic. Proximity to art is good for the bottom line – apparel is priced like fine art, with outerwear priced from approximately £5,000. And revenue, as well as reputation, is on the up. The venue for the show was the Pompidou Center in the French capital, another reminder of how close this house sits with art.

Echoing Past Artistic Alliances

Roseberry recalled one of the most renowned partnerships of Elsa with artist Salvador Dalí, the 1938 dress named "Tears" which is set to feature in the V&A exhibition. "This centered around revisiting the foundation of the fashion house," he explained.

The torn effects in the original were artistically applied, but for the updated version Roseberry shredded the crepe silk itself. In both, the tears are chillingly evocative of skinned skin.

Eerie Details and Playful Threat

A touch of threat is present at the Schiaparelli house – Elsa described her mannequins, with their defined shoulders and cinched waists, as her miniature army – as well as a gleeful delight in a joke. Buttons in the form of fingernails and gold noses dangling as earrings are the visual grammar of the label. The standout feature of this event: fake fur crafted from paintbrushes.

Avant-garde themes emerge across modern style. Cracked-egg heels – walking on eggshells, get it? – were extremely popular at the fashion house Loewe. Surrealist distorted timepieces have appeared on stage at the Moschino label. But Schiaparelli owns this territory, and Roseberry oversees it.

"Schiaparelli clothes have an intense spectacle which dominates the space," he said. A scarlet ensemble was sliced with a triangular piece of skin-colored netting that was positioned approximately where underwear would typically be, in a startling illusion of nudity. The balance between practicality and drama is all part of the show.

New York Designers in Paris

A merry-go-round of designer debuts has welcomed two NYC stars to the French fashion world. Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez have departed from the Proenza Schouler brand they founded in 2002 to lead Loewe, the Spanish leather goods brand that evolved into a $1.5bn (£1.1bn) alpha name under the leadership of Jonathan Anderson before he moved to Dior.

The US designers appeared thrilled to be in the City of Light. Bold colors inspired by Ellsworth Kelly brought a joyful pop art sensibility to the cultured artistic knowledge for which Loewe has become recognized. Vivid yellow slip-ons shook their tassels like Josephine Baker’s skirt; a scarlet fitted jacket had the bold reflective shapes of a ketchup bottle. And a party gown imitating a just-out-of-the-shower towel wrap, plush as a newly washed cloth, achieved the ideal blend where innovative design intersects with stylish enjoyment.