PARIS - With hypermodern materials and an energetic attitude, sport is the story that is engulfing the Paris collections.
The spring 2014 season is almost entirely filled with New Generation designers trying to fit into a historic past. And just when it seemed that the Balmain woman would only take on a sport that involved high heels, the collection took a new direction. The gilded interior of the InterContinental Paris Le Grand hotel was covered in white paper, as a symbol for the models who looked marginally less sexy.
'I loved my girl at 10 p.m., but now I love her at 9 a.m. - she is a powerful girl and a businesswoman,' said Olivier Rousteing, the Balmain designer.
So it was denim work clothes, in a house known for glitz and houndstooth-check suits, and bomber jackets that could be worn by women who get up before noon - as long as they are prepared for a pastiche on Chanel and an almost child-like blowing up of the patterns.
Some of Mr. Rousteing's 'new' women even wore sweaters of the lacy kind, dangling with pearls and sparkles; others wore the oh-so-fashionable 'onesies,' looking like mechanics or farmers, give or take a pristine white lace blouse.
Even their boots were made for walking, in that there were solid heels to support the lacy and fancy upper part. For the rest of the accessories, there was still plenty of the gilt factor in gilded bracelets.
So in his fifth collection, Mr. Rousteing made a change of pace, although the clothes still shouted loudly of money and what the designer took as a lowered skirt hem might be anyone else's mini.
Balmain is in a bind: Having remade its image for the world of fast money and even faster women, it is hard to pull back or to decide how to take a truly different course.
Who would have thought that Carven, the 'nice girl' brand rejuvenated by Guillaume Henry, would let out a rebel yell? But there it was on the runway - if not guns and roses, camouflage mixed with big fat rosy blooms.
'I was thinking about something teen and rebellious - or when you pretend to be a rebel,' said Mr. Henry, talking about his memories of school in the 1990s and about mixing that innocence with streetwear and urban styles. They were embellished with the flowers and even, at the end of the show, by cowboy belts.
The Carven look was girlish, as in models in short skirts with fawn-like legs, raised in thick platforms. But it also had a layer of Parisian sophistication in the way that the rose, and later gingham-check, patterns were inserted as appliqués at the back of dresses or printed on tailored coats.
The result was fresh and girly but not romantic, in the usual way of designers who embrace flowers. What Mr. Henry has brought to Carven is a freshness and an unforced feeling of youth. In fact, he has done the job of revitalizing the brand far more effectively that many names with a bigger resonance.
Ironically, after designers of haute glamour spent Thursday bringing a sporting energy into their shows, it was Nina Ricci, with its riff on white and on flowers that presented the most coherent collection.
The designer Peter Copping produced a collection as delicate as it was unpretentious, treating the clothes like he was a painter, starting with the white of a canvas, but in every conceivable shade from butter to snow, and in every kind of fabric, including lacy or translucent effects. As he added the colors and the florals, the clothes took on an artistic spirit that seemed in harmony with Nina Ricci and the elegant prettiness it stands for.
The house of Paco Rabanne has had more revivals than it has silver mesh and chains. But at last a credible show emerged from the hands of Julien Dossena, formerly with Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga. The new designer caught the silvered textures on a sleek tailored midcalf coat or silvered stripes under a stretchy mesh. A standout dress was in lacquered silk, with a semitransparent nylon overlaying the typical Paco chains.
Instead of working ad nauseam the A-line shape of the 1960s, Mr. Dossena used silvered pants with a white shirt. Inducing a sporty spirit once again brought modernity to a relaunched brand.
Ann Demeulemeester has her own brand, her own vision and she pushes it forward quietly and beautifully.
Blood red spurts of flocking covered a veiled dress, legs were revealed up to the thigh and a huge but light hat flopped over the face.
Was this really Ms. Demeulemeester, once the Belgian queen of gloomy darkness? For several seasons the designer has been working toward the light and for summer she produced an exceptional collection. While still holding on to the Edwardian spirit that has permeated her style, she made the flocking that was once used on Victorian wallpaper into a special kind of decoration.
'I did all the flocking on tulle. It's never been done before and I wanted to bring natural mixes of shape and color for someone who is eccentric by nature,' said Ms. Demeulemeester, who worked with her son on original prints that she hoped would transform the dusty flocking into an energetic modern style. She succeeded admirably.
At the Manish Arora show, the Indian singer Bishi, dressed in shocking pink and gilding front row, seemed destined to be a foretaste of the collection. But in spite of M.I.A., the English-Sri Lankan singer, blasting away on the soundtrack and program notes suggesting an inspiration of Josephine Baker raving along with the party girls of the Charleston era, the fashion message seemed rather to be sporty.
Backpacks matching the outfits included graphic patterns of lipsticks, while short, silvered hair gave an additional splash of sparkle to knits and skirts. Sometimes fringed at the hem, the skirts opened up at the center giving room to stride.
From his early days showing in Paris what looked like costumes, Mr. Arora has done much to make his collection credible for an international audience.
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