Paris Fashion Week: K-pop BLACKPINK’s Lisa turns muse at Celine show as Solange bids adieu to Kenzo duo

The curtain came down on Paris Fashion Week on Sunday with two high-concept shows that had walk-on roles for American singer-songwriter Solange and K-pop star Lisa of girl group BLACKPINK. Kenzo’s design duo, Carol Lim and Humberto Leon, said adieu to the French label with Solange – the younger sister of superstar performer, Beyoncé – as the surprise performer in the same Paris stadium where English veteran singer Elton John had performed to a sell-out crowd a few nights before. Lim and Leon ended their eight-year reign with a bang as the American star appeared on a platform to sing I’m a Witness in between the men’s and womenswear lines. Paris Fashion Week: Kate Moss and Kelly Osbourne marvel at Dior’s sparkling show The brilliantly choreographed event had started with a similar wow moment when a huge curtain was pulled away in front of 600 or so fashionistas to reveal several thousand more people on the other side. Paris Fashion Week: Gigi Hadid sits front row as Virgil Abloh’s Louis Vuitton menswear collection blossoms Having conducted her 11-piece black-clad brass band, Solange then walked arm-in-arm with the designers to acknowledge the ovation at the end, with the feminist English rapper, M.I.A, seated in the front row. Real-life Japanese mermaids Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing got the weekend rocking late on Friday night by making the hot French DJ Kiddy Smile the centre of his show-cum-concert. The young French creator – who often dresses big music stars for their tours – also threw open the doors by giving away 2,000 tickets. “Everyone is talking about inclusivity from behind their screens but no one is actually doing something,” he said. Paris Fashion Week: Rihanna’s Fenty goes online, while menswear gets romantic at Valentino and Virgil Abloh’s Off-White show Inclusion has been one of Lim and Leon’s watchwords, and their final Kenzo collection was inspired by Japanese Ama divers, the “sea women” who have been diving for pearls for 2,000 years. Traditionally, the divers wore a loincloth and the pair picked up that motif with rippling, silkily aquatic clothes that weren’t obviously sexy, but were utterly sensual at the same time. Kate Moss and Kelly Osbourne marvel at Dior’s sparkling show Men’s and women’s lines were peppered with gorgeously original fishing and mermaid metaphors, with a fluidity and a dreaminess about the clothes, particularly in the play with pearls, urchins and little touches of foaming silk and organza. Slimane's retro flares While Lim and Leon went out on a high, you could be forgiven for feeling that Hedi Slimane, Mr Rock Chic himself, was treading water somewhat. The style superstar who is credited with the skinny look has taken a terrible kicking from critics since unseating the beloved feminist creator Phoebe Philo at Celine. He closed fashion week with another no-expense-spared show, which began with an awesome theatrical device. As for the clothes, the big news is that the “Sultan of Slim” has jettisoned his trademark drainpipes – the trousers the late designer Karl Lagerfeld once lost nearly 42kg (92 pounds) to fit into – for flares worn long over heeled boots. Valentino and Off-White embrace romance of spring in Paris Skinny though lives on in the rake-thin male models, every one wearing black aviator shades. In fact, Slimane’s “Celine 04” collection was very much like a male version of “Celine 03” – a walk down memory lane. This time it was a sometimes literalist recreation of what American West Coast rock star types were wearing circa 1973, with a sharp couture sheen and added sparkles. Tight leather jackets and flares, unbuttoned shirts and three-piece double breasted suits with white cowboy boots, red carnation button holes and long thin scarves. Gigi Hadid sits front row for Louis Vuitton’s menswear collection Fans scream for ‘muse’ Lisa Some tops carried downbeat slogans from New York artist David Kramer’s paintings such as “Yesterday was better”, “My own worst enemy” and “Downhill from here”. You could not help but wonder if Slimane – whose army of loyal free-spending fans are known as “Slimaniacs” – was teasing his critics, with one of Kramer’s images carrying the caption, “ … There is no irony here.” Fans did scream at the end, but it was more for Lisa, the Thai-born K-pop rapper of BLACKPINK fame, who is Slimane’s new “official muse” and who was in the front row. STYLE Edit: Why the new Saint Laurent bags are must-haves View this post on Instagram @celine A post shared by LISA (@lalalalisa_m) on Jun 24, 2019 at 9:30am PDT Are luxury sneakers worth all the hype? There was much joy to be had elsewhere with the reinvigorated British brand Dunhill and Paul Smith, the doyen of English tailoring, showing there is plenty of creative life left in variations on the suit. However, the big breath of fresh air was the young French designer, Bruno Sialelli, confirming the promise of his debut collection for Lanvin with a show held at a swimming pool. View this post on Instagram Lanvin SS20 @lanvinofficial #lanvinbybrunosialelli @mr_carlos_nazario @pierreolivieragostini A post shared by Bruno Sialelli (@brunosialelli) on Jun 24, 2019 at 5:32am PDT Success of K-pop’s BTS raises Korean fashion’s global profile Quirky, cool, cute and a lot of fun to look at – and clearly to wear – Sialelli turned out a collection that played with every cliché of the French summer and seaside and somehow made them look new. It was hard not to smile at his tricorne straw hats. View this post on Instagram SS20 @lanvinofficial #lanvinpleinsoleil @mr_carlos_nazario @pierreolivieragostini A post shared by Bruno Sialelli (@brunosialelli) on Jun 23, 2019 at 3:33pm PDT Not for him the pasty, androgynous models that often dominate the Paris catwalk. “I wanted the boys to eat well and to look healthy and strong,” Sialelli said. “Now I need a holiday. I mean, I love my work but holidays are the best things in life, no?” Want more stories like this? Sign up here . 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