Designer presents hyper-sensual show

PARIS -- John Galliano is reaching out to flower children; especially those with a platinum credit card.\nThe zany designer, working for his eponymous fashion house, interspersed denim into fluffy cotton dresses and decked out his models in clunky, fur-lined hiking boots, some with stiletto heels, at his spring-summer 2005 ready-to-wear show Saturday.\nAs usual it was sensory overload. There were pillbox hats, multicolored bikinis, pleated skirts with newspaper print designs and basket-like or inflatable hats. Some models had balloons in tow. Galliano said he was inspired by what young women look like after a few days at the Glastonbury Festival, the revelry-rich music bash that draws thousands of fans to southwest England each year. Any hippie could recognize the psychedelia: marijuana-leaf designs and bulbous, lava lamp-like shapes on light skirts in bright pink, orange and yellow. Then there were the flowers. When there weren't outright flower hats in soft pink tones, draping skirts looked like garlands. a bit like Hawaiian leis. The only thing missing was the mud\n"It's the idea of flowers growing out of anywhere, whether it's denim or tweed, and very Glastonbury," Galliano said after his show at the Empire Theater. \nA poster backstage said: "$60 billion heiresses take Glastonbury by storm, too rich to walk."\nThe tunes fit the bill. A medley of Motown hits, the Beach Boys and the Beatles was woven into a baseline of the Nirvana hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit." At Paco Rabanne, designer Rosemary Rodriguez presented silvery belts echoing gunslingers' bullet bands, light eco-friendly cottons and jewelry or accessories galore. This was a noisy collection: dangling copper-colored chains, plastic medallions and beads or scaly dresses clanged and clattered as models traipsed down the runway. It was freewheeling too, and funky foot jewelry gave a feeling of freedom to a few bare feet walking to a throbbing version of "Tainted Love" by Marilyn Manson at the Carrousel du Louvre.\n"I like the idea you don't feel the clothes, that women could move feeling smooth. A bit of a Bohemian attitude," Rabanne said. "And that women can walk barefoot. It's sensual."\nWispy flowered print suits with bell bottoms added to the counterculture flavor. A scaly dress of shimmering off-white plastic harkened back to Rabanne traditions, but Rodriguez offered her own mark to the house with feathery themes.\n"It's almost antinomic to Rabanne. I like the duality and the mix, and the contrast of plastic and feathers," she said backstage. \nIn the nearby Tuileries gardens, Chloe offered the ultimate in airy with flowing, shimmering silks and satins in dusty earth tones along with masculine jackets and ruffled or pleated bib tuxedo tops. British designer Phoebe Philo drew inspiration from yesteryear: There were seersucker suits, classic stiletto heels, flowing scarves or handsome leather Paddington handbags.\n"I love the chicness of the '50s and '60s," said Philo, who is seven months pregnant. "We wanted to keep it relaxed and wearable, and comfy and not too contrived."\nSome of the jackets looked like what a sophisticated French waiter might wear. More feminine were the light camisole-style tops or shirts with knots on the hip with soft skirts or pleated shorts. Versatility was the buzzword.\n"I hate it when you have to wear something in a way that the designer insists," Philo said. "I love it when I get clothes and can move them around, when there are ties everywhere - here or there."\nJapan's Yoichi Nagasawa dipped deeply into the color palette, and her cultural influences stretched from Ethiopia to Thailand with clothes in eye-popping blue, yellow, orange, red and pink. Models wore their hair tight on the head, a bit like cornrows. Long, multicolored armbands and stringy dresses added flair, and diamond-patterned tights resembled what a harlequin might wear.\nThe collection had twinges of the subdued and sexy, too. One-piece gray suits looked like something a workman might wear, and another resembled high-collared suit from Elvis' wardrobe. One sexy black toga-like dress draped coyly off the shoulder. Junko Shimada presented puffy dresses and clever thick anklets over multicolored stilettos, some featuring zebra patterns over the heel. Bags often featured black feathers or gilded chains.\nBy Jamey Keaten\nThe Associated Press \nPARIS -- John Galliano is reaching out to flower children; especially those with a platinum credit card.\nThe zany designer, working for his eponymous fashion house, interspersed denim into fluffy cotton dresses and decked out his models in clunky, fur-lined hiking boots, some with stiletto heels, at his spring-summer 2005 ready-to-wear show Saturday.\nAs usual it was sensory overload. There were pillbox hats, multicolored bikinis, pleated skirts with newspaper print designs and basket-like or inflatable hats. Some models had balloons in tow. Galliano said he was inspired by what young women look like after a few days at the Glastonbury Festival, the revelry-rich music bash that draws thousands of fans to southwest England each year. Any hippie could recognize the psychedelia: marijuana-leaf designs and bulbous, lava lamp-like shapes on light skirts in bright pink, orange and yellow. Then there were the flowers. When there weren't outright flower hats in soft pink tones, draping skirts looked like garlands. a bit like Hawaiian leis. The only thing missing was the mud\n"It's the idea of flowers growing out of anywhere, whether it's denim or tweed, and very Glastonbury," Galliano said after his show at the Empire Theater. \nA poster backstage said: "$60 billion heiresses take Glastonbury by storm, too rich to walk."\nThe tunes fit the bill. A medley of Motown hits, the Beach Boys and the Beatles was woven into a baseline of the Nirvana hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit." At Paco Rabanne, designer Rosemary Rodriguez presented silvery belts echoing gunslingers' bullet bands, light eco-friendly cottons and jewelry or accessories galore. This was a noisy collection: dangling copper-colored chains, plastic medallions and beads or scaly dresses clanged and clattered as models traipsed down the runway. It was freewheeling too, and funky foot jewelry gave a feeling of freedom to a few bare feet walking to a throbbing version of "Tainted Love" by Marilyn Manson at the Carrousel du Louvre.\n"I like the idea you don't feel the clothes, that women could move feeling smooth. A bit of a Bohemian attitude," Rabanne said. "And that women can walk barefoot. It's sensual."\nWispy flowered print suits with bell bottoms added to the counterculture flavor. A scaly dress of shimmering off-white plastic harkened back to Rabanne traditions, but Rodriguez offered her own mark to the house with feathery themes.\n"It's almost antinomic to Rabanne. I like the duality and the mix, and the contrast of plastic and feathers," she said backstage. \nIn the nearby Tuileries gardens, Chloe offered the ultimate in airy with flowing, shimmering silks and satins in dusty earth tones along with masculine jackets and ruffled or pleated bib tuxedo tops. British designer Phoebe Philo drew inspiration from yesteryear: There were seersucker suits, classic stiletto heels, flowing scarves or handsome leather Paddington handbags.\n"I love the chicness of the '50s and '60s," said Philo, who is seven months pregnant. "We wanted to keep it relaxed and wearable, and comfy and not too contrived."\nSome of the jackets looked like what a sophisticated French waiter might wear. More feminine were the light camisole-style tops or shirts with knots on the hip with soft skirts or pleated shorts. Versatility was the buzzword.\n"I hate it when you have to wear something in a way that the designer insists," Philo said. "I love it when I get clothes and can move them around, when there are ties everywhere - here or there."\nJapan's Yoichi Nagasawa dipped deeply into the color palette, and her cultural influences stretched from Ethiopia to Thailand with clothes in eye-popping blue, yellow, orange, red and pink. Models wore their hair tight on the head, a bit like cornrows. Long, multicolored armbands and stringy dresses added flair, and diamond-patterned tights resembled what a harlequin might wear.\nThe collection had twinges of the subdued and sexy, too. One-piece gray suits looked like something a workman might wear, and another resembled high-collared suit from Elvis' wardrobe. One sexy black toga-like dress draped coyly off the shoulder. Junko Shimada presented puffy dresses and clever thick anklets over multicolored stilettos, some featuring zebra patterns over the heel. Bags often featured black feathers or gilded chains.