Chanel's garden delights as Givenchy designer debuts couture

Rose scents mingled with celebrities such as Marion Cotillard, Sofia Coppola and Rita Ora at Chanel on Tuesday as showman Karl Lagerfeld recreated a verdant garden to showcase his bucolic couture designs. Elsewhere in Paris, Givenchy's new designer unveiled her highly anticipated couture debut.

A model wears a creation for French fashion designer Alexis Mabille's Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2018 fashion collection, presented in Paris, Tuesday, Jan.23, 2018. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

Some highlights from Tuesday's spring-summer 2018 shows:

GIVENCHY DESIGNER'S COUTURE DEBUT

A spooky, floodlit chateau in Paris' historic Marais area was the venue Clare Waight Keller chose to stage her first couture show since being appointed creative director at Givenchy last year.

Guests were led up a dimly lit stairway as discordant music played to a mysterious hall with shimmering crystal chandeliers. The edgy music and venue represented the future and the past.

The sublime couture creations harked back to the designs of house founder Count Hubert de Givenchy — but Waight Keller infused them with a fashion-forward touch.

The house's signature sharp shoulder — here, often on shoulder-draped coats — was a running style in the diverse looks that mixed hard and soft. In the more architectural moments, Waight Keller evoked the spirit of Givenchy's mentor, Cristobal Balenciaga.

Lines — rigid bodices, cinched waists and a hard V-shaped decollete — fused with delicate materials. Feathers flashed vermillion peeking from the inside of a coat and a softly tiered full skirt bled from purple to electric orange and cobalt blue.

It made for some sublime looks that remained highly feminine at all times.

Dark romance was at the heart of this accomplished display, which was possibly the best seen all season.

CHANEL'S GARDEN COUTURE

Chanel's fragrant garden featured architectural wooden arbors, white roses and a babbling water fountain.

A model wears a creation for the Chanel Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2018 fashion collection presented in Paris, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

Inspired by the geometric curves in the furniture, Lagerfeld went back to nature — and to Chanel's couture roots — for a display of pure drama constructed with geometric detail.

The stone-colored clothes teamed with soft floral embroideries and frothy details. Models including Cindy Crawford's daughter Kaia Gerber wore sweet pink, white and purple posies in black tulle hair-pieces.

The devil's in the detail and this season, Chanel was all about the sleeve.

A model wears a creation for the Chanel Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2018 fashion collection presented in Paris, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

A raglan style — one that extends in one piece fully to the collar — seemed to inspire the beautiful and surreal arm shapes that descended stiffly like a tapered tube. Shoulders were wide and dramatically curved.

Full skirts flared out like giant bells in a crisp line shared this surreal quality.

Lagerfeld is an ambitious man, and elsewhere his 69 designs also channeled the tiered fashions of the swinging 1920s.

DIANE KRUGER ON HER GRITTY FILM ROLE

Though she was overlooked for an Oscar nomination, "Inglourious Basterds" star Diane Kruger is still buzzing from the critical acclaim surrounding her challenging role in the movie "In The Fade."

Kruger plays a steely woman whose life falls apart after her husband and son are killed in a bomb attack.

The German-born actress, who attended the Armani Prive couture show in a black tuxedo and sequined gown, said that this film "definitely" comes at a good time for feisty female roles in cinema.

"It's a very strong female role," she said.

"The protagonist was originally written for a man so it was changed for a woman, which is always great," she added.

DIOR'S MASKED BALL

Masked revelers danced into the early hours of Tuesday at the soiree event of couture week: Christian Dior's surrealism-themed masked ball at the Rodin Museum.

Actress Monica Bellucci stepped onto the checkered chess board set in a vivid red lace Dior gown, while model Bella Hadid stunned in a revealing black tulle shoulder less dress, hugging singer Courtney Love effusively.

Guests in check face masks that sometimes impaired vision negotiated around giant 2-meter chess pieces, faceless dancing performers and hanging surrealist sculptures in the marquee venue that was also used to showcase the historic design house's spring and summer couture styles.

A wall of white arms, some fake and some real (belonging to hidden performers), handed out white roses to passers-by who snacked on white chocolate playing cards served on a green poker table cover.

ALEXIS MABILLE'S OLD-SCHOOL GLAMOUR

The red carpet said it all: French designer Alexis Mabille turned on the glamour for a display of classic couture gowns.

Models wear creations for French fashion designer Alexis Mabille's Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2018 fashion collection, presented in Paris, Tuesday, Jan.23, 2018. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

The styles were firmly set to the 1950s — the years following the austerity of World War II that produced long exuberant lengths of fabric, hyper-femininity and hourglass silhouettes.

A floor-length satin gown in coral sported a giant floppy bow at the waist, while one in dark cobalt saw an abbreviated take on a fifties jacket as a bustier and was paired with full length evening gloves.

A model wears a creation for French fashion designer Alexis Mabille's Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2018 fashion collection, presented in Paris, Tuesday, Jan.23, 2018. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

Mabille didn't forget to have fun.

A series of balloon gowns — with curved hems gathered around inside — were the strongest pieces in the show.

Each consecutive skirt sported an even bigger explosion of fabric, until the show reached a dramatic crescendo in a circular bottle green gown that spread out from the bust.

French fashion designer Alexis Mabille accepts applause after the presentation of his Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2018 fashion collection, presented in Paris, Tuesday, Jan.23, 2018. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

ARMANI PRIVE'S WATERCOLOR-INSPIRED DESIGNS

Even a fashion master can have off days.

Tuesday was a mixed couture bag for Giorgio Armani, who explored the theme of watercolor in an exhaustive collection of shimmering pastel gowns that combined too many divergent ideas.

Armani's best looks kept it simple.

A model wears a creation for Giorgio Armani's Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2018 fashion collection presented in Paris, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)

A minimalist satin bodice in oyster led the eye to a dramatic whoosh of silk spilling from the waist. But elsewhere, some looks — though beautifully constructed — saw a complicated silhouette and busy patterns vying for attention.

Models wear creations for Giorgio Armani's Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2018 fashion collection presented in Paris, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)

Nevertheless, it was a hit for celebrities such as Marion Cotillard and Isabelle Huppert, who applauded vigorously from the front row.

A model wears a creation for Giorgio Armani's Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2018 fashion collection presented in Paris, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)

SWAROVSKI AT HOTEL DE CRILLON

No luxury detail was overlooked at the launch of Swarovski's eyewear collection inside the revamped Hotel de Crillon, which reopened last year after a 200-million euro refurbishment.

Views of the sparkling Place de la Concorde delighted guests, including model and actress Poppy Delevingne, socialite Olivia Palermo and actress Morgane Polanski, the daughter of director Roman Polanski.

The eyewear was displayed on stands and featured opulent use of crystal in architectural designs inspired by the Atelier Swarovski jewelry collections, which were also shown off at the event.

Guests then tucked into a lavish meal that included wine from the famous vineyard Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

GENEVA (AP) — Olympic sports bodies criticized World Athletics on Friday for promising to pay $50,000 for each track and field gold medal won at the Paris Olympics.

Last week's move by the track body and its president Sebastian Coe broke with tradition because the International Olympic Committee does not pay prize money, though many state governments and national Olympic bodies do.

“For many, this move undermines the values of Olympism and the uniqueness of the games,” the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, known by the acronym ASOIF, said Friday.

It also fueled speculation about the IOC presidential contest next year when Thomas Bach’s 12-year limit expires. However, his allies want the Olympic Charter changed to let him stay while Coe turns 68 this year and could be stopped by age limit rules.

Coe, a two-time Olympic champion in the men’s 1,500 meters, pledged $2.4 million — $50,000 for each of 48 gold medals in track and field — from his sport’s share of the IOC’s multi-billion dollar income. WA got about $39.5 million from the IOC for the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021.

A former lawmaker in the British parliament, Coe said the money acknowledged that “athletes are the stars of the show.”

“There has been consensus that Olympic revenues should, at least for the more commercially successful and financially independent IFs, be invested as a priority into development and integrity matters,” said ASOIF, based in the Olympic home city Lausanne, Switzerland.

The timing of Coe’s pledge also surprised many as it came one day after the ASOIF annual meeting, held in Birmingham, England, and he is a member of its ruling council.

“During the last days, ASOIF’s membership has expressed several concerns about World Athletics’ announcement,” the group said.

“One cannot and should not put a price on an Olympic gold medal and, in many cases, Olympic medalists indirectly benefit from commercial endorsements,” ASOIF said. “This disregards the less privileged athletes lower down the final standings."

ASOIF suggested “not all sports could or should replicate this move, even if they wanted to.” Paying prize money “goes against the principle of solidarity” and could take money away from governing bodies’ work that was their duty compared to commercial promoters of sports events.

The backlash from Olympic sports — whose leaders are among about 100 IOC members who elect the president — likely was predicted by Coe, who has elevated the issue of how to reward athletes in the often insular world of IOC politics.

The cash promise was popular with United States athletes in various sports preparing to compete in Paris, who can earn $37,500 from their team for gold medals, $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze. The Paris Olympics start July 26

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Performers take part in the official ceremony of the flame lighting for the Paris Olympics, at the Ancient Olympia site, Greece, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. The flame will be carried through Greece for 11 days before being handed over to Paris organizers on April 26. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Olympic sports bodies criticize track and field's move to pay $50,000 for Paris gold medalists

FILE - World Athletics President Sebastian Coe listens to a journalist's question during a press conference at the conclusion of the World Athletics meeting at the Italian National Olympic Committee, headquarters, in Rome, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022. Track and field is set to become the first sport to introduce prize money at the Olympics, with World Athletics saying Wednesday, April 10, 2024, it would pay $50,000 to gold medalists in Paris. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

Olympic sports bodies criticize track and field's move to pay $50,000 for Paris gold medalists