Ambiance is everything, and can be transportive to alternate eras. Held in the Palais du Justice, the morning show by Givenchy had an opulently gilded entrance and an array of male models handing out Givenchy coffee to those who trudged the palatial floors to see the show at Paris Fashion Week (PFW).

Waight Keller explored a darker theme of a tension era in Berlin when the wall came down, a theme examined by other designers before. The era gave life to a music scene that juxtaposed chaos and darkness with edgy funk and dangerous detailing. Not something one would expect from the legendary Givenchy, but I guess all brands have to embrace modernism. There was a combination of menswear and womenswear, with the latter clothed in expectant fall staples: hefty furs, leather jackets, and tailored coats. The animal inspirations were my favorite, namely a zebra pullover and a leopard spotting, as well as the faux wild inspirations of technicolor. For menswear, there were patterned sweaters, long overcoats worn over fitted blazers, and to my surprise, bright leather pants. These were mostly loose fitting, but not quite bidding farewell to skinny given the leather and sparkly thigh hugging cuts seen with matching blazers. Perhaps the most whimsical though were the collection of runway dresses, in combinations of leather, lace, metallic and every fabric imaginable, mostly monochrome or in hefty prints, with asymmetric, voluminous and upheld structures that worked wonders on the eyes. Possibly an ode to the 80s, but this was a collection that had enough variety to be embraced by the ready-to-wear world as well as the red carpets of the fall season.

Supplementary images by WWD.