- No place like home: Biden hosts 'Quad' leaders
- Zelensky says no UK, US go-ahead to use long-range missiles
- New Zealand edge Australia 31-28 in Bledisloe Cup thriller
- Japan orders evacuations as heavy rains trigger floods in quake-hit area
- New Zealand pilot freed in Indonesia after 19 months in rebel captivity
- Hezbollah in disarray after Israeli air strike kills top commanders
- Leading climate activist released from Vietnam jail
- Ethiopians struggle with bitter pill of currency reform
- Sri Lanka votes in first poll since economic collapse
- Feminist author warns of abortion disaster if Trump wins US election
- US city of Flint still reeling from water crisis, 10 years on
- Arsenal's mean defence faces acid test to shut out Man City again
- Late surge lifts Thailand's Jeeno to LPGA Queen City lead
- DeChambeau says PGA's Ryder Cup decision 'just the start'
- Alcaraz defeated on Laver Cup debut
- Postecoglou embraces 'struggle' to make Spurs a success
- Nice hand 'ashamed' Saint-Etienne 8-0 Ligue 1 mauling
- Boeing CEO says ending strike 'a top priority'
- Harris slams Trump for hypocrisy on abortion as US starts voting
- Academy to host first overseas ceremony to honor young filmmakers
- No doctor necessary: US okays nasal spray flu vaccine for self-use
- Former delivery man Baldwin leads star names at PGA Championship
- Trump shooting: Secret Service admits complacency
- Can an ambitious Milei make Argentina an AI giant?
- Haiti, its suffering growing, in 'race against time': UN expert
- Ibrahim Aqil, the Hezbollah elite unit commander wanted by the US
- Chinese forward Cui signs NBA contract with Brooklyn Nets
- US Fed dissenter calls for 'measured' pace of rate cuts
- Guardiola tells players to lead change over workload as Kompany demands cap on games
- Norway limits wild salmon fishing as stocks hit new lows
- Top Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli strike on Beirut
- Rotterdam fatal knife attacker suspected of 'terrorist motive'
- First early votes cast in knife-edge US presidential election
- Top-ranked Swiatek out of Beijing due to 'personal matters'
- Hard-right Reform UK looks to the future after vote success
- Embiid agrees to NBA contract extension with 76ers
- Joshua aims to complete road to redemption in Dubois bout
- World champion Bagnaia sets pace with lap record at Misano
- Biden says 'working' to get people back to homes on Israel-Lebanon border
- Pope criticises Argentina's crackdown on protesters
- Court limits screenings of videos in France mass rape case
- Gurbaz century takes Afghanistan to 311-4 in 2nd ODI
- Central banks face 'difficult balancing act': IMF chief
- Guardiola tells players to lead change over workload fears
- Paris Olympics sports equipment moves to new homes
- 'Happy' Kinghorn relishing life at Toulouse
- Norris sets Singapore pace as Verstappen only 15th
- Germany to bid to host women's Euro 2029
- Portugal brings deadly forest fires under control
- Postecoglou defends Solanke after slow start to Spurs career
Goodbyes and good buys: Paris Fashion Week highlights
The womenswear autumn-winter season finally comes to a halt on Tuesday, having rumbled through New York, London and Milan before ending in the French capital. Here are some of the highlights from the final set of shows in Paris.
- Vivienne and Paco, au revoir -
The fashion crowd said adieu to two titans of 20th century design.
Vivienne Westwood's widower Andreas Kronthaler presented something of a greatest hits collection, with new takes on her iconic pirate boots, corsets, petticoats and platform shoes.
"Maybe the most important thing you ever taught me was to put the woman on a pedestal," he said in a poem accompanying the show, while Westwood's granddaughter Cora Corre capped proceedings in an appropriately inappropriate wedding dress.
For the farewell to eccentric Spaniard Paco Rabanne, who died last month at 88, it was the clanging, tinkling sound of gold and silver dresses -- a fitting memorial to the man behind the sci-fi "improbable dresses" of the 1960s.
- Balenciaga's Humble-core -
When the hype bubble grows too large and bursts in your face, it's time for a reset.
Balenciaga's Demna was in full contrition mode after disastrous ad campaigns last year that appeared to reference child abuse (unintentionally, he insists).
No clever stagings or provocative $1,500 trash bags this time -- just a clean white room and some elegant clothes. Call it "Humble-core".
Before the fall, it would have been "praised to high heaven", said the New York Times, but in the circumstances it "seemed more like the march of the penitents".
- Buyer's delight -
For the buyers from Harrods, the highlights included Chloe, Rick Owens and Schiaparelli.
It was Chloe designer Gabriela Hearst's "strongest collection to date," said the department store's womenswear head Clemmie Harris, with "luxurious fabrics... in newer, cleaner shapes" and "instant must-haves" such as puffer capes and shearling vests.
Rick Owens consistently finds new twists on his dark, alien aesthetic -- this time with dramatic capes and huge cocooning wraps.
"While always true to his distinct and compelling vision he never fails to push the boundaries," said Simon Longland, Harrods director of buying.
There was also praise for the first pret-a-porter catwalk show by Schiaparelli's Daniel Roseberry: "An important step in the revival of the house... rich in detail fabrication and execution," said Longland.
- Louis Vuitton eye-lights
The French brand's hot streak was evident from the front row, which included film stars Zendaya, Alicia Vikander and Lea Seydoux, as well as hip-hop artist Pharrell Williams, its newly minted menswear designer.
The show was a mix of classic, elegant and inventive tailoring, but it was accessories like the light-up visors that grabbed the most attention.
- Pencilled in -
Last cool when it was encircling the legs of Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn, several labels seem to think it's time to bring back the pencil skirt.
They were part of Dior's homage to the 1950s -- though in a crumpled, less figure-hugging form -- while Saint Laurent combined them with giant shoulder pads and aviator shades to create some kind of ultra-elegant 1980s fever dream.
Young designer Charles de Vilmorin made them out of vinyl for Rochas and what he called a "pimped-out mermaid silhouette".
O.Salvador--PC