THROUGHOUT the 19th century, Paris was the battleground for an unending struggle between a series of different artistic ideologies. What started in the late 1820s as a dispute between the newly-emerging romantic movement versus firmly-entrenched classicists continued during successive decades as other schools of expression arose and demanded they receive attention. As a result, artists wishing to observe, if not participate in, a frequently acrimonious discussion on the nature and purpose of their work, inevitably had to come to the French capital.
Paris remained the pre-eminent city for cultural debate and debacle until after the second World War and, at least where fashion is concerned, it still retains a dominant position. Designers from around the world continue to move to France so that they can add their voice to an as yet unresolved argument over the future of fashion. Whereas in Milan, London or New York, there now exists a strong common culture among practitioners in this field allowing an outsider to summarise relatively quickly what will be the dominant trends during any one season, Paris fashion resists consensus.
The old battles, which have long since been abandoned in other areas, have not lost their ability to arouse strong emotions when it comes to fashion in France. Unlike during the previous century, there are no outbreaks of fighting in the streets, it's true, except when necessary to gain admission to a particularly popular catwalk show. But Paris fashion has not yet managed to agree a common formula and perhaps never shall. As the past week as once more demonstrated, the old divisions remain as clear and as effective as ever. Although there are a great many schools, and a certain degree of overlap between them all, in essence, three ideologies predominate: romanticism; classicism; and modernism. When it comes to considering the autumn/winter season, the collections helpfully divide themselves between this triumvirate.
ROMANTICISM: Paris is the natural birthplace for romanticism, and it is therefore no wonder that so many advocates of the ideology gravitate there. In essence, romantics look to the past for support and inspiration. Seen together, their designs are like a fashion archive, although they tend to prefer certain periods over others. The 1960s and 1980s, for example, will never find favour with romantics who, when they glance back over this century, instinctively feel drawn to decades such as the 1930s and 1950s. The characteristics of romanticism in fashion are rich fabrics used in abundance, a love of strong colour and pattern and a silhouette which is sinuous and graceful.
The leading spirit among romantics at the moment is John Galliano whose work embodies all those qualities. In his collection for Dior, Galliano barked back to imperial China in its final days, while for his own line, he turned to ancient Egypt, as seen through the prism of Hollywood films during the silent era. The Galliano show began with a romp of St Trinian's-style schoolgirls: maroon and navy striped blazers and pleated micro skirts, before moving on to dazzling evening wear such as a Nefertiti dress constructed from thousands of gold safety pins. But aside from these overt historical references, there were also pieces which have now become the staples of this designer's repertoire; bias-cut satin-backed crepe evening dresses, for example, and for day, short waisted jackets with exaggerated shoulders.
Vivienne Westwood is another designer enthralled by the past. Although she called her latest collection "Five Centuries Ago" and proposed that it had been inspired by the 16th century, what Westwood offered was not so very different to the clothes she has been producing for the past few seasons. Her jackets have tiny waists and large shoulders, with a clever drape effect across the front to draw attention to the bust. Skirts are almost invariably to the knee although there were also some micro-minis and Westwood has abandoned the idea of a bustle which she determinedly promoted for some time. She loves tartan above almost all other patterns, so it featured heavily, together with grey flannel,leather and black jersey; evenings chez Westwood involve manoeuvring through doorways in vast taffeta confections. As if to underline her devotion to the past, this designer had two of the great faces of 20 years ago - Jerry Hall and Marie Helvin - modelling in her show.
Other romantics this season included:
. Colette Dinnigan, an Australian-based designer who originally specialised in lingerie and now produces lace-trimmed collections replete with panne velvet coats and double chiffon slip dresses in alluring shades of flame red and iris purple.
. Dries Van Noten, who continues his metaphorical wanderings through India and Java to return with gold brocade coats, baggy trousers, Nehru-collar jackets and quilted, cross-tying waistcoats.
. Christian Lacroix, as ever the greatest mixer of colour and pattern in Paris; his show was the usual rampant blend of hues and tones which would quickly degenerate into an untidy mess if done by anyone else.
THE CLASSICISTS: Classicism has been a powerful force in French cultural life since the early 17th century when institutions such as the Academie Francaise were first established.
It therefore continues to exercise considerable authority in Paris fashion even while new credos have spring up and acquired-supporters. The leading lights of the classical order are Yves St Laurent and Valentino. As befits the cause they serve, neither ever produce anything radically different but their clothes have a distinction and authority which are the envy of many other designer Classicists are not interested in breaking new ground; they believe that the ideal has already been achieved and now only needs to be defended against the onslaught of other groups. Classical clothes have a wide appeal precisely because of their dignity and because they do not demand attention.
It may seem strange, therefore, to claim Alexander McQueen, the bad boy of English fashion, as a classicist. But beneath his posturing, McQueen has an authoritative background in Saville Row tailoring and this showed through in his first ready-to-wear collection for Givenchy. There was an awkward moment towards the close of the show when he seemed to be proposing women should dress in archetypal street walker style - vertiginously high stiletto sandals, leopard skin coats and black patent leather micro-skirts - but until then, McQueen offered lots of excellently-proportioned suits, many of them in black or sandcoloured leather with scalloped edging and punched border details. He sent out that favourite of the classicists, le smoking trouser suit, its pants generously loose and single-button jacket given broad, sharp shoulders. Green moire was also used for trouser suits and for coat dresses, while knee-length coats and coat dresses appeared in a metallic thread black wool pinstripe.
Another new name to add to the list of young classicists is the American Alber Elbaz who last week presented a well-received first collection for the house of Guy Laroche. Again, aside from a few passing references to the youth of the designer (A-line orange mohair skirts and the ubiquitous sheer T-shirts) this was a show which would satisfy the needs of any woman who wanted well-tailored and not too demanding clothes. Elbaz served up plenty of suits, with both straight-to-the-knee skirts and comfortable trousers in navy pinstripe, charcoal grey wool and flecked tweed. For after dark, he went down the classical route of black velvet and jersey, two fabrics which never fail to please this market.
Other classicists this season included:
. Sonia Rykiel: though prone to expose models' breasts in this season's show, France's best-known knitwear designer otherwise produced her now-standard collection of loose pants and well-fitting sweaters, mostly (as usual) in black.
. Hermes: fabulous basic materials such as cashmere, suede and chiffon used for knee-length skirts, light polo-neck sweaters, belted trouser suits and clean-edged coats to the ankle.
. Jean-Paul Gaultier: like Alexander McQueen, superficially a non-conformist but his autumn/winter collection was chock-full of terrifically tailored mannish trouser suits in metallic hued satin and cubist patterned velvet drop-waisted dresses.
THE MODERNISTS: After dominating the early part of this decade, modernism now seems to be in retreat as advocates such as Ann Demeulemeester and Helmut Lang opt for a gentler approach to dressing. Modernists aim to deconstruct fashion as it has existed hitherto. They tend to discard anything which is not absolutely necessary, have a horror of unwanted ornament and generally like to re-examine just what is the purpose of a garment. The Japanese have for many years been the masters of this art, with Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo of Commes des Garcons being the leading lights.
Others have gone further, perhaps none more so than the Belgian Martin Margiela, whose fascination with the basic structure of clothes leads him to design pieces in which fundamental techniques are made apparent. Many fashion designers believe that their primary aim should be to produce art which conceals art, but not Margiela; instead, his basic form this season, as last, is the canvas Stockman on which dressmakers and tailors assemble pieces. With its dotted line markings and obvious purpose, this is the starting point for an exploration of how some of the most elementary items - a jacket or coat - can be taken apart and then semi-reconstructed. Not necessarily to many people's taste, these clothes are fashion's equivalent of the Russian deconstructivist movement at the start of this century.
That period also provides the inspiration for Josephus Melchior Thimister -at Balenciaga. Thimister is less overtly radical than Margiela (although his choice of live electronic dissonant music rather than something more tuneful sent many members of the audience scurrying from their seats before the show concluded) but still indisputably a modernist. He used cream moleskin to create enormous oversized trouser suits, the pants so flared that each leg was like an A-line skirt and his dresses also billowed voluptuously after fitting close at the bust.
Other modernists this season included:
. Claude Montana: one of the great names of the early 1980s who seems somewhat to have lost his way during the present decade but came up with a collection in which trouser suits with complex-cut jackets were the principal feature.
. Cerruti: designer Narciso Rodriguez is a minimalist modernist, constantly cutting away to create spare pieces such as a sheer black knit slip top with a pair of flat-fronted pants or charcoal grey flecked tweed sleeveless knee-length dress.
Across the romantic/classic/modern divide, these were the major trends in Paris:
1. Looking to the Far East for inspiration.
2. Square shoulders in the style of the 1980s.
3. The micro-mini skirt.
4. Mohair knits.
5. Polo-neck sweaters.
6. Silk jersey for evenings (with draped necklines).
7. Leather.
8. Fur trims.
9. Velvet.
10. Lace, either as a trim or for dresses with slips beneath.
11. Oxford bags.
12. Stiletto heels.