AFTER a week of shows dominated by the rail-thin teens who are ubiquitous on today's catwalks, Paris fall-winter ready-to-wear 2010-11 displays concluded with a sensual celebration of women in all their curvaceous glory at Louis Vuitton.

Supermodels Elle Macpherson, Laetitia Casta and Holland's Lara Stone ?a whopping size four ?sizzled in 1940s New Look-inspired skirtsuits with nipped waists, full skirts and tight halter-tops that strained to contain their overflowing cleavage.

"I feel like a real woman who is glamorous, who's taking care of herself, who's not afraid of her body,?one of the models, Karolina Kurkova said, adding it was among her first shows since giving birth to a baby boy four months ago. She looked ravishing in a dusty blue wool skirtsuit.

But it was business as usual on other catwalks, where wispy adolescents with bizarre, leaning-back postures and jerky gaits were de rigeur.

At luxury powerhouse Hermes, gender-bending English dandies strutted in leather trenches and crocodile blazers that underscored the label's traditional savoir faire, leatherwork.

Elie Saab, Hollywood's favorite Lebanese designer, continued to churn out red carpet fabulous for his preferred client base, actresses, with a collection of asymmetrical column gowns in lace, ruched chiffon bands and glinting, jewel tone sequins.

For his first ready-to-wear collection with the label, Cerruti's new designer, British-born Richard Nicoll delivered a commercially oriented show of wearable layered looks in a pretty blue palette.

Prada second line Miu Miu sent out a ravishing collection of short cocktail dresses in thick wool felt that resembled nothing else seen all week. Fur, a major trend on fall/winter runways in New York and Milan, was largely absent.

Christian Dior

Christian Dior designer John Galliano was out of the gates with a sexy equestrian-themed show that synthesized two of the luxury label's recent looks: riding gear and lingerie-as-outerwear.

Cropped tweed jodhpurs were paired with ruffley tops in whisper-light chiffon, and the girls pranced down the runway in stiletto-heeled riding boots that would certainly get you killed if you dared mount a horse in them.

An electrical storm, with flashing lights and a soundtrack of clapping thunder and thumping hoofbeats, set the tone for the racy, romantic show.

Cropped tweed jodhpurs were paired with skimpy lingerie tops and trenches in buttery maroon leather, and the models wore thigh-high riding boots with stiletto heels.

Leather ?the horsey material par excellence ?was seen everywhere, from little jackets with pinched waists and ample peplums to flippy skirts in punched leather so fine it looked like lace. Even a black strapless cocktail dress was made in vampy black leather.

Evening wear was whispy-light, a muted rainbow of feathery silks spun into delicately beaded empire waisted gowns and nighty dresses.

Movie star Charlize Theron ?the face of Dior's "J'adore?perfume ?hailed the collection as "wonderful?as she schmoozed backstage with Galliano, Dior President Sidney Toledano and French billionaire and the head of Dior's parent company LVMH, Bernard Arnault, as a scrum of photographers and TV crews chomped at the bit outside.

Chanel

Models in head-to-toe yeti suits picked their way around towering, quickly melting icebergs, sloshing through a puddle of Arctic melt in shaggy fake fur.

Call it climate change chic, Chanel style.

Designer Karl Lagerfeld looked to global warming, turning the melting of the polar ice caps into fodder for Chanel's fall-winter 2010-11 ready-to-wear look.

Models in classic Chanel suits with fur trim or tweed jackets paired with pants that looked like they were made out of Chewbacca, the "Star Wars?Wookiee, struck poses in front of the giant icebergs, which had apparently been specially delivered from Sweden.

The set was covered with a scrim as guests ?including Hollywood bad girl Lindsay Lohan and French singer-actress and Chanel muse Vanessa Paradis ?filed into the venue, sparking a flurry of speculation about what was hidden inside.

When the scrim rose, four models in head-to-toe, coffee-colored yeti suits huddled among the real-life icebergs, like refugees of a global warming-induced apocalypse. After milling about in a daze, they dispersed, and Lagerfeld's parade of climate change chic commenced. Fancy knit sweaters glinted with beadwork, like icicles. Angora sweater dresses shone icily in an Arctic palette of white and powder blue.

Fur panels dressed up the hemlines of the classic Chanel skirt suits and the label's blockbuster chain-strapped handbags, and the Chewbacca trousers were paired with little tweed jackets.

The models kicked up a spray of droplets as they tromped the watery catwalk, and the hemlines of their ankle-length rockstar coats ?worn with cocktail dresses with delicately beaded bodices ?were soaked.

It was a strong display that highlighted not only Lagerfeld's ability to reinvent Chanel's trademark looks season after season, but also fashion's capacity to appropriate the hot-button issues facing humanity and turn them into fodder for trends.

hermas

Paris got its own Savile Row with Hermes?collection of gender-bending looks fit for a dapper English gentleman.

The Paris luxury house, which started off more than 160 years ago as a saddle maker, sent out leather-heavy looks that draw on their long history of technical savoir-faire with the material.

They included trenchcoats in supple leather, croc-skin trousers and microfiber parkas with crocodile epaulettes.

Little leather skirts were worn with menswear blazers and peacoats with extra-wide crocodile belts. Bowler hats topped off all the looks, and the other accessories ?monocle necklaces and extra-long umbrellas ?looked as if they'd been swiped from the wardrobe of an old-school London dandy. Some of the models also sported rolled-up copies of The Times of London in their Kelly bags ?the iconic handbags that are a major cash cow for the label.

French designer Jean Paul Gaultier, the one-time enfant terrible who showed his signature line earlier this week, said the collection was "very English, inspired by The City, bankers?clothes revamped for the women who work there?and by that timeless symbol of British elegance, James Bond.

"It's a kind of Mrs Bond, a Bond-ette,?Gaultier said after the show.

Shiatzy Chen

Inspired by the beauty of jade, Chinese fashion brand Shiatzy Chen's fall/winter 2010 collection featured a dark, gleaming palette of coral red, emerald green and peacock blue with touches of gold, purple and black to create a feminine yet mysterious feel.

Taiwan-based designer Wangchen Tsai Hsia uses predominantly the cocoon silhouette, reminiscent of women in the 1950s. As is always the case, she uses luxurious silk and satin featuring intriguing traditional Chinese hand embroideries and delicate lace patterns.

There are lots of jade accessories in various hues, from statement necklaces to belts and brooches. She has also created leather coats and skirts in emerald green to be paired with exotic over-the-knee boots and elegant embroidered cardigans.

It is a blend of Oriental aesthetics and daily wearability.

YSL

Yves Saint Laurent designer Stefano Pilati was channeling a bit of a 1970s vibe, though he subjugated it to a stark, almost puritanical aesthetic, topping off razor-cut black skirt suits with starched pilgrim collars and nunnish bonnets.

The Italian designer sent out structured black skirt suits hung with the wide round collars or, stranger yet, exaggerated epaulettes in clear plastic, like what raincoats are made from.

A white poplin peasant shirt was paired with a high-waisted black skirt and round black collar with dangling plastic flaps. Another black pencil skirt and ample poplin shirt was worn with a multi-tiered black bonnet, like those worn by certain orders of Catholic nuns.

Odder still, many of these rigorous, almost ascetic looks were worn with massive gold chains and dangling cutouts of people in profile.

It was an unsettling but not entirely unappealing performance by Pilati, whose uncompromising aesthetic has won him flocks of devoted followers, though his recent collections have garnered mixed reviews.

Even among the A-list guests at the show, held beneath the lofty glass-and-steel ceiling of the Grand Palais, reaction was divided.

Porno-chic photographer Terry Richardson pronounced the collection "beautiful ?super sexy and chic. I think Yves would be happy.?

Maria Shriver, first lady of California and wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger, was less convinced, saying "I'm not sure where I would wear that.