CANNES, FRANCE -- France may have voted Socialist, but the Cannes International Film Festival keeps the allure of an ancient kingdom. Rivals joust for the Palme d'or, royal guests applaud and, of course, by the time the festivities are over, there's a bit of blood on the floor of the Palais des Festivals. Cannes, which celebrates its 65th...
PARIS Rei Kawakubo was backstage. Despite a forceful ovation at the École des Beaux-Arts on Saturday, she had remained rooted in place, all five feet of her, dressed in the black battle garb that had turned the Paris fashion soil 30 years ago. She had on black sunglasses, which made her look like a rock star -- or rather, at almost 70, simply...
LAST September, a few days before his spring fashion show, Jean Paul Gaultier took a hard look at one of his models. She was wearing a hip-length gilet in a navy pinstripe fabric over a second-skin bodysuit that gave the illusion of tattoos, both key ingredients in a formula of fierce tailoring and devilish streaks that the designer has been...