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On the very same day as Taylor Swift, designer Sarah Burton embarked on her Showgirl period. For her second outing as the creative director of Givenchy, Burton turned up the volume with collars embellished with shimmering stones across the collarbone area, luscious peach maribou feathers, a pocket-rocket cocktail dress in bold crimson leather, and supermodel Naomi Campbell in a formal tuxedo coat worn open over a scant lace-trimmed bra.

Forging a Unique Path

Burton's tenure at Givenchy less than a year, but the former key collaborator at McQueen has swiftly crafted a unique persona for the house and for herself. The Givenchy fashion house, the legendary domain of Audrey Hepburn and the classic LBD, has an immaculate bloodline of glamour that extends from the French capital to Tinseltown, but it is a modest entity as a business. Earlier creative directors had primarily focused on streetwear and utility-coded metallic accents, but Burton is bringing back the sophistication.

"The goal was to create something provocative and alluring and to expose flesh," Burton said backstage. "When we want to empower women, we often reach for masculine codes, but I wanted to explore feminine sensibility, and the process of adorning and revealing."

Concealed appeal was also present, too, in a dress shirt in smooth white leather. "Each woman is unique," Burton commented. "Sometimes when I’m casting, a model dons a look and it becomes clear that she doesn’t want to wear a heel. Thus, I modify the ensemble."

Return to Glamorous Events

Givenchy is reaffirming its position in high-profile occasion wear. Burton has styled actor Timothée Chalamet in a pale yellow formal suit at the Oscar ceremony, and Kaia Gerber in a vintage-feel ballerina gown of ebony lace at the Venice Film Festival.

Schiaparelli’s Surreal Resurgence

The brand Schiaparelli, the surrealist fashion label, has been resurgent under designer Daniel Roseberry from America. The following year, the Victoria and Albert Museum will host the first major British Schiaparelli exhibition, examining the work of designer Elsa Schiaparelli and the brand she created.

"You don’t buy Schiaparelli, it becomes a collection," Roseberry remarked after the show.

Women who wear Schiaparelli need no showcase to tell them that these garments are artistic. Connection with the art world is beneficial for business – clothes come with gallery prices, with blazers beginning around £5,000. And profits, as well as visibility, is on the up. The venue for the show was the Centre Pompidou in the French capital, another reminder of how close this house sits with art.

Revisiting Iconic Collaborations

Roseberry revisited one of the most renowned partnerships of Elsa with surrealist master Dalí, the 1938 "Tears" gown which will be in the V&A show. "This centered around going back to the roots of the house," he noted.

The shredded details in the initial design were artistically applied, but for the updated version Roseberry cut into the crepe silk itself. In each version, the tears are chillingly evocative of flayed flesh.

Surreal Elements and Menacing Charm

There is an edge of menace at Schiaparelli – The founder called her mannequins, with their sharp shoulders and nipped-in waists, as her plaything troops – as well as a cheerful embrace of wit. Buttons in the form of fingernails and metallic nose ornaments as earrings are the iconic symbolism of the label. The standout feature of this event: synthetic fur created using brushes.

Surrealist elements appear throughout contemporary fashion. Eggshell-inspired heels – navigating delicately, understand? – were extremely popular at the brand Loewe. Dalí-inspired melting clocks have walked the catwalk at the house of Moschino. But Schiaparelli dominates this domain, and Roseberry presides over it.

"Schiaparelli clothes have a heightened theatricality which dominates the space," he said. A crimson dress was cut with a triangular panel of nude-hued fabric that was positioned approximately where briefs are usually located, in a startling illusion of nakedness. The interplay of functionality and spectacle is all part of the show.

US Talents Take on Paris

A merry-go-round of designer debuts has introduced two New York favorites to the French fashion world. Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez have departed from their Proenza Schouler label they created in 2002 to lead Loewe, the Spanish leather house that evolved into a $1.5bn (£1.1bn) alpha name under the direction of Jonathan Anderson before his transition to Dior.

The American creatives seemed ecstatic to be in Paris, France. Bold colors inspired by Ellsworth Kelly brought a joyful pop art sensibility to the sophisticated art intelligence for which Loewe has become recognized. Banana yellow loafers dangled their tassels like the fringe of Baker's costume; a crimson peplum blazer had the confident glossy contours of a tomato sauce container. And a cocktail dress masquerading as a recently used bath sheet, fluffy as a freshly laundered bath sheet, captured the sweet spot where smart creation blends with sartorial amusement.