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On the very same day as Taylor Swift, designer Sarah Burton entered her Showgirl era. During her second presentation as the creative director of Givenchy, Burton heightened the intensity with collars embellished with shimmering stones across the collarbone area, rich peach-colored maribou plumes, a sleek and short cocktail dress in bold crimson leather, and supermodel Naomi Campbell in a tailored tuxedo blazer worn open over a barely-there lace trim bra.

Establishing a Fresh Direction

Burton's tenure at Givenchy under a year, but the longtime associate of Alexander McQueen has quickly defined a unique persona for the house and for herself. Givenchy, the spiritual home of Audrey Hepburn and the classic LBD, has a pristine heritage of sophistication that extends from the French capital to Tinseltown, but it is a modest entity as a business. Earlier creative directors had largely embraced urban fashion and utility-coded metallic accents, but Burton is reviving the glamour.

"My intention was for it to be seductive and intimate and to expose flesh," Burton explained after the show. "When we want to empower women, we often reach for masculine codes, but I wanted to explore feminine sensibility, and dressing and undressing."

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

Reclaiming the Red Carpet

Givenchy is reaffirming its position in red carpet dressing. Burton has dressed Timothée Chalamet in a pale yellow formal suit at the Oscars, and Kaia Gerber in a classic ballerina-style gown of dark lace at the Venice Film Festival.

The Revival of Schiaparelli

Schiaparelli, the avant-garde design house, has been experiencing a revival under designer Daniel Roseberry from America. In the coming year, the Victoria and Albert Museum will host the premier British exhibition on Schiaparelli, looking at the work of the founder Elsa Schiaparelli and the fashion house she established.

"You don’t buy Schiaparelli, you collect Schiaparelli," Roseberry remarked post-presentation.

Clients of Schiaparelli don’t need an exhibition to tell them that these garments are artistic. Proximity to art is positive for revenue – apparel is priced like fine art, with blazers beginning around £5,000. And profits, as well as visibility, is on the up. The setting for the event was the Centre Pompidou in the French capital, an additional signal of how intimately this brand is linked to art.

Echoing Past Artistic Alliances

Roseberry revisited one of the iconic joint efforts of Schiaparelli with Salvador Dalí, the 1938 “Tears” dress which will be in the V&A show. "This was about going back to the roots of the house," he said.

The shredded details in the initial design were carefully rendered, but for the contemporary take Roseberry tore into the silk fabric itself. In both designs, the tears are chillingly evocative of stripped tissue.

Eerie Details and Playful Threat

A hint of danger exists at the Schiaparelli house – Elsa referred to her mannequins, with their defined shoulders and cinched waists, as her toy soldiers – as well as a joyful appreciation for humor. Nail-shaped buttons and golden noses hanging as ear accessories are the visual grammar of the house. The punchline of this show: synthetic fur created using brushes.

Surrealism pops up across modern style. Eggshell-inspired heels – walking on eggshells, get it? – were extremely popular at the brand Loewe. Dali-esque wonky clocks have appeared on stage at Moschino. But Schiaparelli owns this territory, and Roseberry presides over it.

"Garments from Schiaparelli possess an extreme drama which sucks the air out of the room," he stated. A crimson dress was adorned with a geometric insert of flesh-toned mesh that rested around the area a pair of knickers should, in a startling illusion of bare skin. The tension between wearability and theatre is integral to the presentation.

American Creatives in the French Capital

A whirlwind of new designer introductions has welcomed two NYC stars to Paris. The duo Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez have moved on from the Proenza Schouler brand they created in 2002 to lead Loewe, the Spanish leather house that expanded into a $1.5 billion powerhouse under the direction of Jonathan Anderson before his transition to Dior.

The American creatives seemed ecstatic to be in Paris. Bold colors inspired by Ellsworth Kelly brought a cheerful pop art vibe to the cultured artistic knowledge for which Loewe now stands. Vivid yellow slip-ons swayed their tassels like the hem of Josephine Baker; a scarlet fitted jacket had the confident glossy contours of a tomato sauce container. And a cocktail dress masquerading as a just-out-of-the-shower towel wrap, fluffy as a freshly laundered bath sheet, captured the sweet spot where smart creation blends with sartorial amusement.