Paris Fashion Week highlights: Teddies, Kids and a Phone Ban

A Ronaldo jersey becomes a dress at Vetements. MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP
A Ronaldo jersey becomes a dress at Vetements. MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP
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Paris Fashion Week highlights: Teddies, Kids and a Phone Ban

A Ronaldo jersey becomes a dress at Vetements. MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP
A Ronaldo jersey becomes a dress at Vetements. MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP

Paris Fashion Week, which runs until Tuesday, has seen no shortage of eye-catching moments this week. Here are a few highlights.
No phones?!?
OMG! Fashionistas at The Row's show were told they were not allowed to use their beloved phones, meaning entire minutes of their lives would go unrecorded on Instagram.
The label of TV star sisters Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen instead offered guests a notebook and pencil to record their impressions the old-fashioned way.
Chloe's new mama
There was a rare moment of spontaneity and family love at Chloe, where German designer Chemena Kamali made her debut with a collection that returned to the 1970s heyday of the house.
When Kamali came to take the customary bow at the end of the show, her five-year-old son couldn't resist running onto the catwalk for a hug in front of the ranks of fashion elite. Surprised and delighted, Kamali took him in her arms before quickly passing him back to dad and rushing backstage.
PETA's Beckham protest
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) disrupted Victoria Beckham's show on Friday, with slogans including "Viva Vegan Leather" and "Animals Aren't Fabric" before being bundled quickly off the catwalk.
Teddy Boy
Vetements, the subversive brand launched in 2014, vowed its latest show was the one "you've been waiting for for 10 years", and drew attention with hugely oversized suits and a Ronaldo jersey turned into a dress.
One crazy look was a coat made of teddy bears. Was creative director Guram Gvasalia having a dig at his estranged brother Demna, who quit the brand to work for Balenciaga and had a huge controversy around an ad campaign featuring BDSM teddy bears?
Perhaps, though Vogue pointed out it was a direct copy from Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, who made a similar coat for Madonna.
Highland Sam Smith
British popstar Sam Smith made a surprise appearance on the catwalk for Vivienne Westwood in a very short and rather revealing tartan kilt under a red shawl.
The "Unholy" singer, known for daring red carpet outfits, re-emerged later in a long shredded black coat over a polka-dot top.
Casablanca up in arms
Charaf Tajer's label, which joined Paris Fashion Week last year, has built a lot of hype with its luxury sportswear.
Its second show, named after 90s Bjork hit "Venus as a Boy", introduced more stylish nightwear -- ranging from a blood-red cocktail dress to a semi-sheer rhinestone blouse to a pearl-encrusted mini-dress -- and played with imagery from Ancient Greece including laurels, pottery and sandals.
But in the ring of the Winter Circus, the clothes were almost overshadowed by an incredible troupe of synchronized arm dancers in the background.
DVN's 'audacious everyday'
Known for meticulous craftsmanship, Belgium's Dries Van Noten presented another eclectic collection that spawned a possible new trend tag from WWD: "audacious everyday" has apparently replaced last year's "quiet luxury".
Deconstructed sweaters turned into wraparound shawls, kimono-like coats, big furry shorts and bags -- in a pastel range of pink, aniseed green and butter yellow -- the collection sought a balance between stylish restraint and exciting statement.
Raining on Hermes
It was a rainy week in Paris, and Hermes brought the wet indoors, too, with a curtain of rain pouring down through the middle of the catwalk.
The collection, "midway between equestrianism and motorbikes" according to creative director Nadege Vanhee, offered luxurious ways to keep dry.

Biker-style jackets and tight-fitting coats with wool sleeves. Others featured rocker-style rivets or ostrich feathers, all in a narrow palette of burgundy, green, black and grey.



Gap's Turnaround Efforts Drive Quarterly Beat in Surprise Early Announcement

FILE PHOTO: The Gap logo is seen on the front of the company's store on Oxford Street in London, Britain, July 1, 2021. REUTERS/John Sibley/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Gap logo is seen on the front of the company's store on Oxford Street in London, Britain, July 1, 2021. REUTERS/John Sibley/File Photo
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Gap's Turnaround Efforts Drive Quarterly Beat in Surprise Early Announcement

FILE PHOTO: The Gap logo is seen on the front of the company's store on Oxford Street in London, Britain, July 1, 2021. REUTERS/John Sibley/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Gap logo is seen on the front of the company's store on Oxford Street in London, Britain, July 1, 2021. REUTERS/John Sibley/File Photo

Gap on Thursday surpassed Wall Street expectations for the second quarter, as a surprise early announcement of its results showed shoppers turned to its Old Navy and namesake brands to snap up trendy and fashionable clothing.
Shares of Gap closed up nearly 2% at $22.8. The stock was halted during the day following a Bloomberg News report that said the apparel retailer's earnings press release and presentation appeared on its website in the morning, hours earlier than scheduled.
A Gap spokesperson told Reuters that the company's results were briefly and accidentally posted on its website due to an administrative error. It was originally scheduled to release the numbers after the bell.
The Banana Republic owner is in the midst of a brand turnaround under CEO Richard Dickson and has been ramping up its stores with fresher and more chic styles to bring back lost customers.
Dickson on a post-earnings call said Gap's consumer base has broadened and the company is seeing more sell-throughs at full-price, resulting in less discounting.
People, who are otherwise saving dollars and curbing spending on big-ticket items, are more than willing to go all out and spend on in-trend footwear and clothing such as those from Abercrombie & Fitch, Roger Federer-backed On and Deckers Outdoor's Hoka.
"(Gap) is being managed better than it was ... it is not like all four brands are really completely healthy, but they are trending in the right direction under the new management," Morningstar analyst David Swartz said.
Comparable sales at Old Navy rose 5% during the quarter, while the Gap brand posted 3% growth. Banana Republic sales, however, were flat as the brand continues to focus on fixing the fundamentals and improve its pricing and assortment architecture.
Gap's second-quarter net sales rose 5% to $3.72 billion, beating LSEG estimates of $3.63 billion.
It earned 54 cents per share, also topping analysts' average estimate of 40 cents.
The apparel retailer reaffirmed its annual net sales forecast and expects gross margin to expand by about 200 basis points versus its prior forecast of at least a 150-basis-point increase.