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On the very same day as Taylor Swift, designer Sarah Burton stepped into her Showgirl phase. For her second outing as the creative director of Givenchy, Burton turned up the volume with collars adorned with sparkling rhinestones over collarbones, luscious peach maribou feathers, a pocket-rocket cocktail dress in lipstick red leather, and supermodel Naomi Campbell in a formal tuxedo coat draped over a barely-there lace trim bra.

A New Identity

Burton's tenure at Givenchy for a short period, but Alexander McQueen’s long-term right-hand woman has swiftly crafted a unique persona for the brand and for herself. Givenchy, the iconic residence of Audrey Hepburn and the classic LBD, has an immaculate bloodline of glamour that stretches from Paris to Hollywood, but it is a modest entity as a business. Earlier creative directors had primarily focused on streetwear and functional metal embellishments, but Burton is reintroducing the sophistication.

"The goal was to create something erotic and sensual and to expose flesh," Burton explained following the presentation. "In efforts to empower women, we often turn to masculine elements, but I wanted to explore female emotional intelligence, and dressing and undressing."

There was covered-up allure, too, in a formal shirt in supple white leather. "All women vary," Burton said. "Sometimes when I’m casting, a model dons a look and I can just tell that she is uncomfortable in high heels. Thus, I modify the ensemble."

Red Carpet Revival

Givenchy is reaffirming its position in red carpet dressing. Burton has styled Timothée Chalamet in a soft yellow tuxedo at the Oscar ceremony, and model Kaia Gerber in a classic ballerina-style gown of dark lace at the Venice film festival.

The Revival of Schiaparelli

The brand Schiaparelli, the avant-garde design house, has been making a comeback under the US-born creative director Daniel Roseberry. The following year, the Victoria and Albert Museum will host the first major British Schiaparelli exhibition, exploring the work of the founder Elsa Schiaparelli and the fashion house she established.

"Acquiring Schiaparelli is not about buying, you collect Schiaparelli," Roseberry remarked backstage.

Those who don Schiaparelli need no showcase to tell them that these clothes are art. Proximity to art is positive for revenue – clothes come with gallery prices, with blazers beginning around £5,000. And revenue, as well as visibility, is rising. The location of the presentation was the Pompidou Centre in the French capital, an additional signal of how deeply this fashion house is connected to the arts.

Echoing Past Artistic Alliances

Roseberry recalled one of the iconic joint efforts of Schiaparelli with artist Salvador Dalí, the 1938 "Tears" gown which will appear in the V&A display. "This focused on revisiting the foundation of the fashion house," he noted.

The shredded details in the initial design were painted on, but for the updated version Roseberry shredded the crepe silk itself. In both, the rips are eerily suggestive of skinned skin.

Surreal Elements and Menacing Charm

A touch of threat is present at the Schiaparelli house – Elsa referred to her mannequins, with their angular shoulders and cinched waists, as her plaything troops – as well as a cheerful embrace of wit. Buttons in the form of fingernails and gold noses dangling as earrings are the iconic symbolism of the brand. The punchline of this show: synthetic fur created using brushes.

Surrealist elements appear throughout contemporary fashion. Broken-egg footwear – walking on eggshells, get it? – were extremely popular at the fashion house Loewe. Dalí-inspired melting clocks have appeared on stage at the Moschino label. But Schiaparelli owns this territory, and Roseberry presides over it.

"Schiaparelli clothes have an extreme drama which sucks the air out of the room," he said. A red gown was sliced with a geometric insert of flesh-toned mesh that was positioned approximately where briefs are usually located, in a head-swivelling illusion of bare skin. The interplay of functionality and spectacle is all part of the show.

American Creatives in the French Capital

A merry-go-round of designer debuts has brought two darlings of New York to the Parisian scene. Designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez have departed from the fashion house Proenza Schouler they created in 2002 to take over Loewe, the Spanish leather house that grew into a £1.1 billion leading brand under the direction of Jonathan Anderson before his departure to Dior.

The US designers appeared thrilled to be in the City of Light. Ellsworth Kelly brights brought a joyful pop art sensibility to the cultured artistic knowledge for which Loewe is currently known. Banana yellow loafers swayed their tassels like Josephine Baker’s skirt; a scarlet fitted jacket had the confident glossy contours of a condiment vessel. And a cocktail dress masquerading as a recently used bath sheet, fluffy as a freshly laundered bath sheet, captured the sweet spot where smart creation blends with sartorial amusement.