Paris, July 10: Skirts morphed into trousers, animal faces leered from jackets and patterns crawled all over the body in a wildly imaginative haute couture collection on Wednesday by French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier. The surrealist display began with a white hooded bodysuit from which emerged half a blazer jacket, the pane of a skirt and a jaunty trilby hat.
A fuchsia velvet suit paid homage to designer Elsa Schiaparelli with three-dimensional hands shaped into the fabric below the pockets. A studded leather jacket was lined with a full-length coyote -- jaws and all.
Guests gathered at the Fine Arts school on the French capital's Left Bank for the show on the third day of the autumn-winter haute couture collections, which also featured designs by Valentino and Emanuel Ungaro.

Bodysuits in fabrics ranging from gray flannel to white python appeared under everything from tailored suits to the wispiest of evening gowns, causing some models to strike pained expressions as temperatures soared inside the venue.
A flesh gauze version was embroidered with henna-colored tattoos. Another featured a network of red sequin veins connected to a glowing heart.
But strip away these stylistic diversions, and you were left with stunning Gaultier gowns like the one Nicole Kidman wore to collect her best actress Oscar this year.
British model Jade Parfitt, looking like a creature from the silent film "Metropolis," drew waves of applause in a silver layered flapper dress worn over a sparkling metallic jacquard bodysuit with rows of crystal armbands.
Gaultier is gaining in status following his appointment to design ready-to-wear for Hermes in addition to his own label. With this fine collection, the former enfant terrible of French fashion proved he was ready to join the big league.
Bureau Report