MCPETE-SEZ
*************************************************
Offstage Drama Rivals Fashion at Paris Shows 

By Joelle Diderich

PARIS (Reuters) - The Paris fashion collections entered their
final stretch Friday after a week in which offstage drama at times
threatened to overshadow the clothes.

Celebrities, fashion editors and department store buyers
descended on the world's fashion capital for a whirlwind of
catwalk shows that provided an opportunity to spot new trends
and catch up on industry gossip.

The scoop of the week was Givenchy's announcement that it had hired Julien Macdonald to take over from fellow Briton Alexander McQueen as artistic director for womenswear.

Givenchy had fueled speculation that a changeover was imminent by canceling its official ready-to-wear show, scheduled for Friday, saying it preferred to present the outfits to
selected buyers and press in its private showrooms.

That left the smaller houses of Montana, Leonard, Feraud and Rochas to cap a week in which Tom Ford confirmed his grip on the reins at Yves Saint Laurent and John Galliano tested the loyalty of Christian Dior customers with neon graffiti club gear.

Macdonald's appointment stunned fashion critics, who said the Welsh designer known for putting pop stars into barely-there sparkly dresses lacked the class to run a house famous for
outfitting the classically elegant Audrey Hepburn.

Eyebrows were also raised at the timing of the announcement, which appeared designed to undermine McQueen.

Relations between Givenchy and the idiosyncratic designer have been strained since McQueen sold a majority stake in his own-name label to Italy's Gucci Group, effectively
delivering a huge snub to his bosses at rival French luxury goods giant LVMH.

Glamour And Stress

The drama and intrigue were manna from heaven for fashion mavens, who spend the long waits between shows blowing kisses at each other and scanning the front row for famous faces.

Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney turned up to cheer his designer daughter Stella at Chloe, where he shared a bench with singer Chrissie Hynde and Hollywood actress Liv Tyler.

At Dior, hip actress Chloe Sevigny rubbed shoulders with model
Kate Moss and socialite Brooke de Ocampo.

But the show of the week was Ford's lavishly orchestrated
production at YSL, where the reclusive actress Isabelle Adjani
was conspicuously inconspicuous in a floppy hat and sunglasses.

For all the glamour, the manic pace of the shows -- which
number up to 13 a day -- soon takes its toll on everyone.

The thronging crowds and dim lights inside official venues saw more than one female guest tumbling over her Gucci heels, with injuries ranging from twisted ankles to a bump on the head.

Pity the poor photographers who show up hours in advance to mark their spot. Tired and aching, they frequently broke into chanting and clapping to protest at delays.

Models meanwhile rushed to last-minute fittings before the shows, where they were primped, preened and manhandled by an army of hairdressers and make-up artists.

Once on the catwalk, it didn't get much better.

At Clements Ribeiro, they were sent down an undulating catwalk in pencil-sharp stiletto heels. At Nina Ricci, they were forced to wade through a thick layer of purple fake fur.

British model Stella Tennant clearly relished a chance to let off steam at Galliano's show for Dior, where he instructed girls dressed as boxers to pout and snarl for the flashbulbs.

Tennant stomped up to the battery of photographers and made an obscene gesture with her arm -- revenge perhaps for all the catcalls they shower on models during the shows.

Meanwhile, Brazilian (news - web sites) supermodel Gisele Bundchen kept her promise not to appear, after telling reporters in Milan she was fed up with the stressful, frenetic pace of
runway work.