Designer Karl presents gothic glamour Paris - Caroline Kent Couture Fashion Week is an opportunity for designers to unleash the fantasy of fashion. The spring/summer 2013 couture shows saw an enchanted garden filled with gothic fairies at Chanel, whilst Dior’s winter woodland scene and jewel-lipped models were similarly magical. Karl Lagerfeld took a gothic turn on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Chanel couture. When Arabstoday caught up with his muse and creative collaborator Lady Amanda Harlech at Hotel Meurice before the show she was tip-lipped about the theme, revealing only that the dome of the Grand Palais was being transformed for the show and we should be “very excited” for what was to come. Harlech and Lagerfeld’s vision did not disappoint, providing one of the stand-out shows of the week. Stella Tennant opened the show in a white cape and jacket hybrid, so far, so Chanel. But extravagant black feathered make-up and hair accessories bought an edge to the timeless tweed look. There was an emphasis on shoulders this season; stoles, wraps and sleeves hugged the upper-torso tightly, or trapezed from the collar leaving the décolleté bare. Skirts stood stiffly away from the silhouette or ballooned in waves for a romantic, medieval opulence. Check out the Arabstoday ‘Style’ section for more exclusive first-hand coverage of the Couture shows.