Paris fashion gets sheer and luxurious for winter

PARIS, France - Hyper-feminine dresses and skirts fluttered and sparkled on the Paris catwalks Wednesday with transparency, luxurious fabrics and elongated silhouettes standing out in collections by Damir Doma, Guy Laroche and Rochas.

Doma's trademark tapestries were much in evidence on day two of the Paris collections for autumn/winter 2014/15 with looks including a long wrap skirt in mottled burgundy and blue and a one-sleeved shawl, pinned, kimono-like, over the bust.

In another standout look, a dress combined blurred charcoal check in silk crepe de chine and blanket plaids in deep turquoise wool.

For evening, there were pewter stripes on felt pleats creating a glamorous metallic glow and a black tulle shift dress with transparent panels.

Guy Laroche designer Marcel Marongiu's collection, meanwhile, set out to encapsulate "luxurious, streamlined audacity".

Skirts came with pleats and oversized ruffles; jackets in glossy black leather.

And the designer took transparency a step further with embellished sheer dresses that left little to the imagination.

"For me, luxury is all about the materials... You have to let the materials speak and the woman express herself," the designer told reporters after the show.

Marongiu added that the cinnamon and petrol blue in his palette had been inspired by the work of the Russian-born French modernist painter Serge Poliakoff.

Other colours in the collection were described as "sulfur-yellow, chocolate brown and muted anthracite".

Elsewhere, on Wednesday, Alessandro Dell'Acqua presented his debut show for French fashion house Rochas.

Transparency made an appearance here too, and sumptuous and heavily embroidered fabrics shimmered on the catwalk.

Shapes, however, were largely oversized, overlapping and A-line in order to achieve what Rochas called a "couture-infused grace mixed with a certain gravitas".

"It is the overlapping of layers and pieces that creates the whole image. Ball gowns end up under long polo shirts, coats are worn one on top of the other," it said.

Dell'Acqua was announced as the new creative director of Rochas, replacing Marco Zanini, in September 2013.

His show was one of a number of debuts scheduled for nine days of ready-to-wear fashion being held in Paris.

Another closely watched debut will be that of Chinese-born French designer Yiqing Yin's in her first show for Leonard on Monday.

Yin, who left China for France at the age of four, had until recently been known largely for her experimental couture style.

Since January 2012, her fashion house has taken part in the couture shows in Paris as a guest member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture.

But last year she received a huge boost when "Amelie" star Audrey Tautou chose to wear one of her dresses in her role as mistress of ceremonies at the Cannes film festival.

On Wednesday the shows will wrap up with the week's highlight, former Balenciaga designer Nicolas Ghesquiere's first show for Louis Vuitton.

Ghesquiere took over at the luxury French brand last year, following the departure of Marc Jacobs after 16 years at the helm.

His arrival marks the start of a new era at Vuitton where industry watchers predict Ghesquiere will work to create a more exclusive image following years of rapid global expansion.