Why they all want to dress Christina

Published on Monday 26 January 2004 00:00

Here’s a question. How did someone universally panned as one of the worst dressers on the planet suddenly get to become star guest at the Paris haute couture shows? Truly, the fashion world is a funny place. When you think of Christina Aguilera, what’s the first thing that springs to mind: an exquisitely crafted £10,000 ballgown or an unlovely, red, PVC basque?

The couture industry depends on a handful of very rich women spending the GDP of a small country on a frock or two every season. But with couture clients dwindling, the industry has had to re-evaluate its relevance in the modern world. That’s where Christina Aguilera comes in.

Celebrity endorsement guarantees publicity, which helps recoup the huge cost of staging a show. Whatever you think of her dress sense, at least Christina loves clothes, is unapologetic about her taste and is so rich that she can afford to indulge it endlessly. No wonder Versace, Valentino and Gaultier were clamouring to accommodate her front row.

Two of the best shows of the week were two of the most different. Dior’s presentation was held in a giant tent on a glossy catwalk with pulsating music and models in gold Plexiglass phoenix masks. It was a homage to Nefertiti and Cleopatra, a bright, gold, burnished bronze brute of a collection that looked larger than life. Thank the Lord profits at Dior have shot up, for if John Galliano’s vision can’t shift handbags, then nothing can.

If Dior was all about the big picture, then Gaultier was all about minutiae. He sectioned off his venue into tiny salons, so intimate that you could see the extreme craftsmanship that had gone into each outfit. It was a stunning collection, full of truly innovative techniques that kept alive the original manifesto of couture, which is to function as an ideas laboratory.

Ungaro also scaled back his presentation, eschewing his usual lavish stage set in favour of his own showroom. The draping and embroidery looked even more vibrant shown in such a plain white room - and again, there was the benefit of getting to see the workmanship close-up.

Are smaller shows a trend for the future? With the current debate about counterfeiting sweeping the French fashion industry, you can see why designers are keen to scale back their guest lists.

It makes financial sense, too: at a time when profits at most luxury-goods companies have taken a nosedive, an expensive catwalk show seems like one extravagance too many. Suddenly, small and intimate is in.

And yet. Fashion is all about the grand gesture, the celebrity front row and getting your gear on as many TV stations and newspaper pages as possible. Scale back and the counterfeiters would find it harder to see the goods - but so would the customers.

Paris couture week proved that fashion is at a crossroads. Which way will it head? It’s going to be an interesting year. Whatever happens, one thing is for sure: Christina Aguilera’s dress sense will improve dramatically. After she’s experienced the world’s most beautiful clothes first hand, those leather chaps will have to go.