Kylie Jenner Turns Paris Fashion Week Into Her Personal Runway

When manner made history.

Before models traipsed down elaborate runways and designers presented audacious collections during Paris Fashion Week, determination was a clip erstwhile it was each concern and nary pleasure.

In its aboriginal iterations, manner week brought lone mag editors and personal shoppers unneurotic successful intimate settings. There was nary star-studded beforehand row—instead, invitees sat intimately unneurotic arsenic models weaved done their chairs. However, 1 fabulous nighttime successful November 1973 would alteration everything. 

While the archetypal recognized Paris Fashion Week was some a manner and catwalk extravaganza, it besides transpired into a scrumptious face-off betwixt 5 French designers and 5 American designers.

The lawsuit became known arsenic the Battle of Versailles.

It was a contention betwixt the crème de la crème of American and French fashion, arsenic good arsenic a fundraiser held astatine the Palace of Versailles to reconstruct the historical residence. Not surprisingly, Eleanor Lambert, the creator of New York Fashion Week, projected the thought for the charitable gala.

Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Anne Klein, Halston and Stephen Burrows represented the U.S., portion Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Christian Dior, Emanuel Ungaro and Marc Bohan served connected the French side.

As Robin further explained, the manner extravaganza "took spot during a clip erstwhile the French manner manufacture was truly overwhelmingly dominant—not lone due to the fact that the French acceptable the trends and truly dressed the astir influential women, but due to the fact that the American manner manufacture rather virtually copied French designs."

It was really considered the standard. "American companies paid a interest for the close to transcript French designers," she shared. "For 5 American designers to beryllium invited to amusement connected a signifier alongside the French was truly notable for Americans."

Per WWD, Donna Karen, who worked for Anne Klein, revealed she was the "only decorator shunted to the basement of the chilly palace to hole her segment."

Donna noted that her brag "wasn't precisely welcomed arsenic a woman."

At the time, Anne's attack to fashion wasn't considered up-to-par with the different American designers. Notably, Halston, whose creations were worn by erstwhile First Lady Jackie Kennedy oregon Oscar de la Renta, who worked for Parisian manner powerhouses before so he felt helium had thing to prove.

But, arsenic the saying goes, hellhole hath nary fury similar a pistillate scorned. Donna recalled Anne's amusement taking "Paris by storm."

"There was nary question astir it," she told the magazine. "The French were truthful successful daze of the American clothes. 'What bash you mean you don't person hooks and eyes and you conscionable propulsion them on?' The Americans were conscionable truthful acold into the future. It was astir [the] easiness of dressing, day-to-night. [Anne] was up of the game."

As WWD previously described of the manner face-off, the French accumulation "came disconnected arsenic stiff and old-fashioned," whereas "the American conception pulsed with the vibrancy of the groovy disco epoch and a much liberated presumption of femininity."

WWD's John Fairchild, who covered the ultra-glam gala nether the pen sanction Marie Antoinette Esterhazy, said the French sets were "so tacky they weren't adjacent camp."

Without a doubt, France's biggest plus was the legendary Josephine Baker, who lit up the signifier with her opening show and lavish ensemble, successful which she wore a towering feathered headpiece and a nude bodysuit that was embellished with diamonds.

But erstwhile it came clip for the Americans to instrumentality halfway stage, they near guests successful awe. According to manner exertion and writer Robin, Liza "brought a benignant of Broadway show and energy" portion opening and closing the show.

"The Americans were truly putting connected a modern signifier of entertainment," the writer told Harper's Bazaar. "There weren't elaborate sets and they beauteous overmuch relied connected the show of the people."

And portion designers' manner and presentations were alluring, it was the models who brought the collections to life. As John elaborate for WWD, "The American mannequins knew however to determination successful the apparel they showed."

Supermodel Pat Cleveland echoed the aforesaid sentiments in an interrogation with InStyle, saying, "We were trying to bring beingness to the clothes. It was bodies moving nether the emblem of creativity, of design."

A premier example: Pat recalled Halston telling her to "be a moth" for him.

"I could consciousness done my feet that I was connected the edge," she remembered. "I could perceive the assemblage go, 'Oh!' They thought I was going to autumn disconnected the edge. I was conscionable playing with them. It's truthful overmuch amusive to get a small thrill."

All successful all, the Battle of Versailles marked the commencement of a caller epoch for the manner industry—in much ways than one. Yes, Paris Fashion Week was born, but Americans had influenced the French for once.

Even more game-changing? It created a much inclusive and divers manner industry.

As Marcellas explained to InStyle, "It was the archetypal clip that astir Europeans would person seen that galore Black models astatine erstwhile connected the stage."

"Europe has ever been, arsenic acold arsenic manner [is concerned], a spot wherever Black models thought they could spell and enactment much than they could successful the United States. That's a fallacy," the manner adept and writer continued. "There were a mates of models that broke through, similar Dorothea Towles, successful the precocious '40s, and Helen Williams, who was the archetypal acheronian tegument Black exemplary to bash the European shows. But the doors of Europe were closed to Black models earlier the Battle of Versailles."

Marcellas pointed retired the monumental interaction of the event, saying, "The milestones virtually are the girls from the Battle of Versailles, past Iman, past Naomi [Campbell]."

"If determination had not been those girls during the Battle of Versailles," helium added, "there'd beryllium nary Naomi Campbell. It was a defining moment."