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On the very same day as Taylor Swift, designer Sarah Burton entered her Showgirl era. In her second collection as the creative director of Givenchy, Burton heightened the intensity with collars embellished with shimmering stones across the collarbone area, opulent peach-toned feather accents, a compact and striking evening dress in lipstick red leather, and Naomi Campbell in a formal tuxedo coat draped over a minimalist lace-adorned bra.

Establishing a Fresh Direction

Burton's role at Givenchy under a year, but the former key collaborator at McQueen has already established a new identity for the fashion house and for herself. Givenchy, the legendary domain of Audrey Hepburn and the timeless black dress, has an immaculate bloodline of elegance that extends from the French capital to Tinseltown, but it is a relative minnow as a business. Previous designers at the house had primarily focused on streetwear and functional metal embellishments, but Burton is reintroducing the sophistication.

"I wanted it to be provocative and alluring and to reveal the body," Burton explained following the presentation. "When we want to empower women, we often reach for masculine codes, but I wanted to look at female emotional intelligence, and the process of adorning and revealing."

There was covered-up allure, too, in a dress shirt in butter soft white leather. "Every woman is different," Burton stated. "At times when selecting models, a model tries on a garment and I immediately sense that she doesn’t want to wear a heel. Therefore, I adjust the outfit."

Red Carpet Revival

Givenchy is re-establishing itself in red carpet dressing. Burton has dressed Timothée Chalamet in a pale yellow formal suit at the Oscar ceremony, and model Kaia Gerber in a retro-inspired ballet dress of dark lace at the Venice Film Festival.

Schiaparelli’s Artistic Comeback

The fashion house Schiaparelli, fashion’s house of surrealism, has been making a comeback under the US-born creative director Daniel Roseberry. In the coming year, the Victoria and Albert Museum will host the inaugural UK Schiaparelli showcase, exploring the work of designer Elsa Schiaparelli and the brand she created.

"You don’t buy Schiaparelli, you collect pieces from Schiaparelli," Roseberry remarked after the show.

Women who wear Schiaparelli need no showcase to tell them that these garments are artistic. Art-adjacency is beneficial for business – clothes come with gallery prices, with blazers beginning around £5,000. And revenue, as well as visibility, is increasing. The venue for the show was the Centre Pompidou in Paris, another reminder of how close this house sits with art.

Returning to Historic Partnerships

Roseberry recalled one of Elsa’s most famous collaborations with artist Salvador Dalí, the 1938 “Tears” dress which will appear in the V&A display. "This centered around revisiting the foundation of the brand," he said.

The shredded details in the initial design were painted on, but for the modern iteration Roseberry tore into the silk fabric itself. In both designs, the shreds are hauntingly reminiscent of flayed flesh.

Eerie Details and Playful Threat

A touch of threat is present at the Schiaparelli brand – Elsa described her mannequins, with their angular shoulders and cinched waists, as her plaything troops – as well as a joyful appreciation for humor. Buttons in the form of fingernails and gold noses dangling as earrings are the iconic symbolism of the label. The punchline of this show: fake fur crafted from paintbrushes.

Surrealist elements appear all over current fashion. Broken-egg footwear – treading carefully, understand? – were highly sought-after at the brand Loewe. Dali-esque wonky clocks have walked the catwalk at Moschino. But Schiaparelli owns this territory, and Roseberry commands it.

"Garments from Schiaparelli possess an intense spectacle which dominates the space," he said. A crimson dress was cut with a geometric insert of nude-hued fabric that sat roughly where underwear would typically be, in a startling illusion of nakedness. The interplay of functionality and spectacle is all part of the show.

American Creatives in the French Capital

A whirlwind of new designer introductions has welcomed two NYC stars to the French fashion world. Designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez have departed from the Proenza Schouler brand they established in 2002 to lead Loewe, the Spain-based leather label that evolved into a £1.1 billion leading brand under the leadership of Jonathan Anderson before his transition to Dior.

The Americans looked delighted to be in Paris. Vibrant Ellsworth Kelly hues brought a cheerful pop art vibe to the sophisticated art intelligence for which Loewe is currently known. Banana yellow loafers dangled their tassels like the hem of Josephine Baker; a red peplum jacket had the bold reflective shapes of a ketchup bottle. And an evening dress disguised as a just-out-of-the-shower towel wrap, plush as a newly washed cloth, found the perfect balance where innovative design intersects with stylish enjoyment.