Paris Fashion Week 2014

Paris Fashion Week 2014: Earth to Jean Paul Gaultier, do you read?

PARIS -- Jean Paul Gaultier likes himself a Hollywood-worthy production all right. And that's exactly what he gave guests at his fall 2014 fashion show on Saturday night.

The venue was the sleek-and-modern 1972 Oscar Niemeyer-designed French Communist Party Headquarters. The glowing green dome in front beckoned us inside to board Gaultier's latest wild ride, a cosmic tour of...Johnny Rotten's London?
If the two themes seem like they are out of orbit, it's because they were. Perhaps if there had been a David Bowie through line to tether them, but alas, there was not.

Which is not to say there weren't notable pieces in either camp.
"Gravity" star Sandra Bullock might approve of a silvery, quilted satin zip-front skirt and matching top, and a leather biker jacket with a filmy organza outer layer studded with celestial-looking crystals. But plasticky PVC pants and a fur space suit? Not so much.

And in the Anglomania camp, Union Jack-motif sweaters and skirts, and tartan jackets and pants with zipper details had a certain spirit, if not much originality.

The collection was modeled by a diverse cast of characters (mohawked fellows, cherubic children, and silver-haired divas) in what has become a somewhat cliched display of fashion inclusiveness on the runways.

It all landed a bit flat, leading one to wonder why Gaultier must bother with a campy, costumey theme each season? Maybe it would be better to focus less on theatrics, and more on making clothes that meaningfully relate to the universe of fashion today.