The wrong trousers – and other tales of the unexpected at Paris fashion week

A death knell sounded in Paris – minimalism, the trend that made plain and simple the height of chic, is over. More is more ruled the Paris runways. Dries Van Noten’s Wednesday show was an assault on the senses – with an a capella soundtrack of pop’s power women; Kanye West and Jane Birkin on the front row, and a collection that, as a rule, piled several prints, colours, textures and fabrics on top of one another. Elsewhere, Olivier Rousteing’s Balmain collection had a rich-woman type of maximalism – with gold, shoulder pads, frills and vibrant colours centre stage – while Dior had thigh-length PVC boots, mega-long ponytails and cat’s eye makeup as standard. Hardly subtle but hard to ignore. LC