PARIS -- With the white-fringed dresses and star-strewn bodysuits they sent down the runway to the strains of "Somewhere over the Rainbow," designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren were the talk of the Paris fashion scene this week.
But few of their runway clothes will be made in any sizable quantity, and nobody expects Messrs. Horsting and Snoeren to make any actual money from these outlandish looks. Instead, the Dutch design duo is counting on the buzz from their show -- which featured tuxedoed male ballroom dancers waltzing through dry-ice smoke -- to ring up big sales in the more-commercial realm of perfumes, cheap-chic clothes and accessories.
"The clothes are part of a bigger story," says Mr. Horsting, whose closely held fashion label, Viktor & Rolf, has licensing deals with cosmetics giant L'Or al SA and fast-fashion emporium Hennes & Mauritz AB's H&M.
Fashion week in the French capital, more so than in other cities, is a showcase for the world's most creative fashion trends, especially those that will never translate directly into clothing sales. During this week's shows, which end Monday, the innovative looks have included Jean Paul Gaultier's racer-striped fishnet leggings, Karl Lagerfeld's boxy black dress with bubble sleeves, crystal-encrusted leggings at Balenciaga and Comme des Gar?ons' patchwork-plaid pants and white tutus with a red circle, reminiscent of the Japanese flag.
For fashion's big guns -- Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior -- the Paris shows are an elaborate publicity vehicle for the pricey handbags and shoes that make up the bulk of their sales. The Louis Vuitton label, for example, gets only a tiny fraction of its annual sales of $5 billion plus from the ready-to-wear clothing items that its creative director, Marc Jacobs, sends down the runway Sunday. But making a big splash in Paris is still a critical element of every elite designer's marketing plan, keeping the brand visible and exciting in front of editors and A-list fashionistas.
But for designers at smaller brands -- Viktor & Rolf; Olivier Theyskens, formerly at Rochas; and Alber Elbaz at Lanvin -- Paris is an incubator for innovation that may not yield commercial successes for several years. "They all came to Paris because that's where the creative tradition was consecrated," says Pamela Golbin, curator of the Mus e de la Mode, which currently is showing a retrospective called "Balenciaga Paris." "In America," she adds, "it is about the 'it' designer. But in Paris there is a long-term commitment...that allows a designer to develop."
The emphasis on high-concept artistry sets Paris-based labels apart from their generally more commercial Italian and American counterparts. "The people here, they see with fashion eyes," says Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld, after presenting his collection, which included neatly tailored blouses and trenchcoat-style dresses. People in Paris, he says, innately appreciate fashion's artistic aspects.
Retailers, too, say it doesn't matter if the styles on the runway never end up in stores. The point of coming to Paris is to look through the window that Paris offers into new fashion ideas.
Sometimes, the emphasis on creativity over commercialism pays off. In 2001, when PPR SA's Gucci Group bought the storied but moribund Balenciaga label, industry observers were skeptical that it would ever resonate with modern shoppers. The Spanish-born Cristobal Balenciaga had closed the haute couture house in 1968; it had never produced clothing for retailers. But the French designer, Nicolas Ghesqui re, revived it. Balenciaga says the label has been profitable since the end of 2005, declining to provide sales figures.
The label's show on Tuesday was one of the hottest tickets in Paris this week, featuring a futuristic parade of skinny pantsuits, patent-leather minidresses and sculpted alligator jackets that drew thunderous applause. "It was very Balenciaga, very Nicholas Ghesqui re, and very Barneys," says Julie Gilhart, women's fashion director at Barneys. She says she was especially taken with the jackets and the shiny slim pants, which she thought were both chic and sellable.
Stores such as Barneys New York, a unit of Jones Apparel Group, and Neiman Marcus Group's Bergdorf Goodman don't buy nearly as much fashion apparel and accessories in France as they do in New York and Italy. But they depend on a smattering of Parisian labels to give their stores a cutting-edge vibe. "It is important that we are so closely associated with designers that push fashion," says Ms. Gilhart, of Barneys, which last week opened a store in Dallas. "Our customers must understand that they are getting something special."
Recently, some observers have worried Paris might lose some of its creative flare. Last year, the Parisian fashion scene was rankled when LVMH Mo?t Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA Chairman Bernard Arnault sold off Christian Lacroix, the fabled French fashion label it had launched in 1987, to the Falic Group, a U.S. duty-free retailer. And in July, when Procter & Gamble Co. decided to stick with its core consumer-goods business and shutter the House of Rochas, some saw it as a bad omen for fashion's small, high-creativity designers.
This week, though, it was clear that Parisian houses, as well as foreign brands based here, are continuing to push the fashion envelope. "Paris in the last couple of seasons has been the dominant force, in terms of pushing relevant ideas and silhouettes," says Michael Fink, women's fashion director at Saks Inc.'s Saks Fifth Avenue.
Jean Paul Gaultier's wild fashion show on Tuesday began with a runway retrospective of his signature looks, including the famous cone-shaped bustier Madonna popularized on her 1990 "Blond Ambition" tour. Mr. Gaultier's collection for spring 2007 had a workout theme, complete with sparkly exercise bikes and ellipitcal machines on the stage.
A number of retailers said they liked Mr. Gaultier's sexy fishnet leggings and silk track suits. "He is totally transcending active and turning it into lifestyle," says Nicole Fischelis, fashion director at Federated Department Stores Inc.'s Macy's, using retailing shorthand for department stores' mainstay apparel categories. Macy's is featuring the lower-priced Gaultier Jeans label in the windows at its Herald Square store in Manhattan this month.
Viktor & Rolf is one of the more successful fashion brand-building endeavors of recent years. Messrs Horsting and Snoeren, who have been designing for 13 years, are best known among fashion devot es for their white blouses with complicated tucks and ruffles and their boutiques designed to look upside down, with chandeliers on the floor.
They are widening their brand's visibility and recognition with licensing deals. Starting this November, the duo will design an exclusive collection of women's and men's apparel, including a $400 bridal gown, for 250 H&M stores around the world. L'Or al two years ago launched Flowerbomb, Viktor & Rolf's first women's fragrance, and last month it came out with Antidote, a Viktor & Rolf fragrance for men. Antidote is now the top-selling men's fragrance at Saks Fifth Avenue -- even though the store has never carried any Viktor & Rolf apparel.
"Viktor & Rolf have credibility of creating a fantasy," says Patricia Turck Paquelier, international brand president for L'Or al fragrances.
At the Viktor & Rolf fashion show on Monday, onlookers sipped Champagne while models walked down a central runway on crystal and satin platform heels. A huge banner for Antidote perfume was unfurled during the show's grand finale.
Fashion watchers guessed the show was at least a million-dollar production. L'Or al, which paid for the show, declined to comment, allowing only that it cost "a significant amount." The company says the brand's fragrances will be profitable in two years.
