RED CARPET REWIND

Hollywood's early birds get the couture

Actresses start shopping the Paris shows.

By Elizabeth Snead, The Envelope

July 5, 2007

This week was like a Fourth of July couture sale in Paris. Several Hollywood actresses got a jump on their award season wardrobes by flitting over to the City of Light to preview major designers' Fall/Winter 07/08 haute couture runway shows.

And this early-bird-gets-the-gown routine may mean we'll see some pretty fancy couture gowns on that long road to the 2008 Oscars: the Venice Film Festival, the Emmys, the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild and various important critics awards this winter.

The serious Oscar hopefuls will deign to wait – as they should – until the January couture collections to choose a unique gown for their big O red carpet. But here are some famous front-row faces spotted shopping this week:

At John Galliano's Christian Dior show held at Versailles: "Grey's Anatomy" star Ellen Pompeo, "Fantastic Four" femme Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson, "Marie Antoinette" director Sofia Coppola, French actress Juliette Binoche, burlesque queen Dita Von Teese, film honcho Harvey Weinstein and his Marchesa designer girlfriend Georgina Chapman, who designed both Jennifer Lopez's and Sienna Miller's gowns for last year's Golden Globes.

As appealing as Dior's over-the-top costumes: ex-supermodels Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Karen Mulder, Helena Christiansen, Amber Valetta and Shalom Harlow. Even Leonardo DiCaprio's ex, Giselle Bundchen, was vamping it up on the runway.

At Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel show held at Parc de Saint Cloud: Johnny Depp's gap-toothed gal pal Vanessa Paradis, Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas, French actress Virginie Ledoyen and director David Lynch. Maybe Lynch likes Karl's fingerless black leather gloves?

At Giorgio Armani's Privee couture collection: Armani's hot new A-lister Cate Blanchett, who wore his metallic gowns to the 2007 Globes and Oscars. "The Devil Wears Prada" star Anne Hathaway, Camilla Belle and celeb stylist Rachel Zoe were spotted at the exclusive post-show dinner party.

Oops, almost forgot. At Richard Tisci's show for Givenchy, a cadaver-esquely pale Courtney Love sat in the front row wearing a very long black trench coat. All the better to rob graves in.

In case you're curious, here are some hot couture trends that may pop up on upcoming red carpets. Be warned. This stuff can also impact prom dress styles and wedding gown silhouettes, so don't think you're safe just because you can't afford this stuff.

Costume Party: The biggest trend seemed to be gowns and dresses that looked more theatrical than practical, which is not surprising given that these creations cost more than a down payment on a house. But this season, it does feel like designers should stop harking back through history and start making gowns that look fresh and modern, not like they're designed for a stuffy period drama.

Super-sized Chic: Designers are thinking big. There were Scarlett O'Hara (fiddle-de-dee) Southern belle gowns at Christian LaCroix, and enormous Spanish court ball gowns with layers and layers of fabric at John Galliano's Dior show. Lanvin's Albert Elbaz even turned up the volume and Armani offered flouncy flared skirts with fitted jackets and gowns with huge pod-like skirts. Forget the energy and gas crisis. If this "pump up the volume" trend takes off, there's gonna be major satin, silk, chiffon and tulle shortages.

Pomp and Circumstance: The Dior collection quite simply OD'd on opulence. But Galliano was not alone. Seems like every runway featured much too much embellishment, beading, sequins and intricate embroidery.

Color Corrected: If the couture collections are any indication (and they generally are), there's gonna be an explosion of bright colors in the coming awards season. Colors pop-popped at LaCroix and Dior. Even classicist Armani did hot pink gowns. Yes, there are still some basic B&W offerings. But it's the brights that speak the loudest.

Precious Metals: The silver, gold and bronze age is still with us. Metallic fabrics and accents give both an armor-like medieval feel and a futuristic space-age sensibility, which is why Karl Lagerfeld mined metals in his couture collection.

To see the Hollywood stars and their Paris couture, click here.