Paris calling

Fashion fever grips everyone as Paris Fashion Week kicks off this week. With ninety-one catwalk shows in the official diary alone, the fashion crowd will be on its toes 24X7.

The Spring/Summer’11 fashion roadshow rolls into Paris this week. With ninety-one catwalk shows in the official diary alone, the fashion crowd will be on its toes 24X7.

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But for the first time in close to two decades, the Paris shows are deserting their traditional venue under the Louvre Museum, for a giant tent set up at the foot of the Grand Palais, a vast domed exhibition hall near the River Seine.

Day one, as dictated by tradition, put the spotlight on young designers: Aganovich, from London, and Anthony Vaccarello, who was singled out for attention by Vogue’s influential doorstep-thick September issue.

But from then on, all fashionista eyes are on a quatuor of classic houses — Balenciaga, Balmain, Celine and Givenchy — that have received a burst of fresh energy with the arrival of talented new designers.

At 88, Pierre Cardin is returning to the catwalk after a long absence, while fresh faces coming to Paris include the US designer Zac Posen, 29, and the New York-based duo Proenza Schouler, receiving on invitation-only. Kenzo is marking its 40th birthday with a show at Paris’ Winter Circus. Other people to watch include Sarah Burton, who stepped up to replace Alexander McQueen, and is unveiling her first collection to the Paris crowd. While, Jean-Paul Gaultie — with perhaps a touch of nostalgia — will unveil his last collection for Hermes.

French designer Roland Mouret, who has bought back the rights to his own name, held since 2005 by his former financial partners, will show an eponymous collection -- dropping the “RM by Roland Mouret” tag of past seasons. The shows wrap up on Wednesday, October 6 with collections by Hermes, Vuitton and Miu Miu.