- Mystery drones won't interfere with Santa's work: US tracker
- Djokovic eyes more Slam glory as Swiatek returns under doping cloud
- Australia's in-form Head confirmed fit for Boxing Day Test
- Brazilian midfielder Oscar returns to Sao Paulo
- 'Wemby' and 'Ant-Man' to make NBA Christmas debuts
- US agency focused on foreign disinformation shuts down
- On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis launches holy Jubilee year
- 'Like a dream': AFP photographer's return to Syria
- Chiefs seek top seed in holiday test for playoff-bound NFL teams
- Panamanians protest 'public enemy' Trump's canal threat
- Cyclone death toll in Mayotte rises to 39
- Ecuador vice president says Noboa seeking her 'banishment'
- Leicester boss Van Nistelrooy aware of 'bigger picture' as Liverpool await
- Syria authorities say armed groups have agreed to disband
- Maresca expects Man City to be in title hunt as he downplays Chelsea's chancs
- South Africa opt for all-pace attack against Pakistan
- Guardiola adamant Man City slump not all about Haaland
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Bethlehem marks sombre Christmas under shadow of war
- 11 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Indonesia considers parole for ex-terror chiefs: official
- Postecoglou says Spurs 'need to reinforce' in transfer window
- Le Pen says days of new French govt numbered
- Villa boss Emery set for 'very difficult' clash with Newcastle
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- How Finnish youth learn to spot disinformation
- 12 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Panama leaders past and present reject Trump's threat of Canal takeover
- Hong Kong police issue fresh bounties for activists overseas
- Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot
- India consider second spinner for Boxing Day Test
- London wall illuminates Covid's enduring pain at Christmas
- Poyet appointed manager at South Korea's Jeonbuk
- South Korea's opposition vows to impeach acting president
- The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand
- Teen Konstas to open for Australia in Boxing Day India Test
- Asian stocks mostly up after US tech rally
- US panel could not reach consensus on US-Japan steel deal: Nippon
- The real-life violence that inspired South Korea's 'Squid Game'
- Blogs to Bluesky: social media shifts responses after 2004 tsunami
- Tennis power couple de Minaur and Boulter get engaged
- Supermaxi yachts eye record in gruelling Sydney-Hobart race
- Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts, spewing columns of lava
- El Salvador Congress votes to end ban on metal mining
- Five things to know about Panama Canal, in Trump's sights
- NBA fines Minnesota guard Edwards $75,000 for outburst
- Haitians massacred for practicing voodoo were abducted, hacked to death: UN
- Inter beat Como to keep in touch with leaders Atalanta
- Man Utd boss Amorim questions 'choices' of Rashford's entourage
- Trump's TikTok love raises stakes in battle over app's fate
Paris Fashion Week returns to pre-pandemic form
Two years on from France's first pandemic lockdown, Paris Fashion Week is almost back in full stride, with the vast majority of houses returning to live shows.
The women's autumn-winter week kicks off on Monday with all eyes on Off-White, presenting the final collection by its founder Virgil Abloh, who died from cancer in November at 41.
Abloh, a former Kanye West collaborator, turned Off-White into one of fashion's fastest-growing brands and was recruited to head menswear for Louis Vuitton before his career was tragically cut short.
Louis Vuitton, which has a majority stake in Off-White, believes the brand can continue to grow in Abloh's absence.
"Off-White is in the position that Dior was in 1957 (when its founder died)," Louis Vuitton CEO Michael Burke told Business of Fashion.
"The question is: what has the founding father left? If the legacy is rich, authentic and steeped in values that go beyond fashion, the odds of turning a passing into something eternal are spectacular."
Off-White is returning to the catwalk for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic struck -- and it is not alone.
Of 95 houses on the official Paris calendar, only 13 have stayed fully online for this fashion week.
The biggest names, including Dior, Chanel and Hermes, are among 45 brands holding live catwalk shows.
Saint Laurent, which had dropped out of the official calendar during the pandemic, vowing to set its own schedule, has returned to the regular line-up.
Others are doing a mix of online films and in-house presentations for buyers and press -- a concept that was devised during the pandemic and has remained popular with several houses such as Japan's Issey Miyake.
- Students of the metaverse -
Before all that, students from the French Fashion Institute will get things rolling with a digital presentation focused on fashion for the metaverse.
"The metaverse is in the process of being built and it will keep growing. It's important to be in it," said Laure Manhes, who is studying for a master's in accessories.
There are logistical advantages to breaking down barriers between real and virtual clothes, she added, since digital fashion allows youngsters to gain a foothold without the expense of making real clothes.
"It's good to have visibility online when you're starting out. It's easy -- these are tools that we know how to use well."
Physical fashion will not disappear, she added: "But it will evolve in line with this new way of thinking and communicating."
For another master's student, Lou Comte, the virtual realm offers a chance to mix different artistic styles in their work: "It's a chance to open up the field of what is possible and reach more people."
F.Moura--PC