Bondage hits the runway at Paris Fashion Week

The odd-couple mix of bondage and big sizes collided on the Paris catwalk Friday, in clothing that was at once roomy and adorned with nude women who were tied up tight.

Japanese label Christian Dada -- in its first official appearance on a Paris Fashion Week runway -- showed off models in ballooning stovepipe trousers and oversized overcoats, some with belts as wide as a copy of Vogue. The bondage crept in with the image of a nude kneeling woman -- hands bound together behind her back -- printed onto some of the spacious coats paraded on the catwalk to the echoing sound of a beating heart.

The risque theme did not stop there, with designer Masanori Morikawa saying he sprinkled the autumn and winter collection with embroidered flowers and elephants to represent male and female naughty bits. "This collection is about tying, like everything, like belts, like buckles, like bondage," Morikawa told AFP after the show, which was inspired by controversial Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki. "I'm really mixing his iconic things and my iconic things." Founded in 2010, Christian Dada -- a mashup of Christian Dior and the anarchic art movement -- is known for an edgy, rock n' roll influence on its designs, which have included chain mail t-shirts and studded shoes.

Duffle coat deconstructed

Bondage, however, was not on the menu as fashion house Margiela marched its collection past fashion watchers in a defunct railway worker's cafeteria in the French capital. Deconstruction was the byword for the men's clothing, which was crafted without house creative director John Galliano, who works on women's ready-to-wear and haute couture. The classic Paddington Bear duffle coat was made sleeveless and ankle-length -- but still equipped with its signature clasps -- in Margiela's hands. "We question the world-weary modes of the masculine wardrobe, jarring the finite expectations of a traditional garment," the house said in a note to the audience.

The brand, founded by Belgian Martin Margiela, also confirmed the potency of a trend already gracing catwalks elsewhere: the super sleeve. Coats and pullovers strutted down the runway had sleeves that covered the models' hands partly or completely, paired with trousers that didn't quite make it to the ankles. Keeping with the house's love of making the familiar somehow unfamiliar, its collection showed biker shorts on a bomber jacket or loose-knit pullover-wearing model.

Cerruti stays chic

Cerruti's new star designer, American-born Jason Basmajian, sent a serious, subdued collection onto the catwalk that was certain not to offend house founder-Nino Cerruti. High-end materials -- cashmere, silk and sheep skin -- formed the basis for the somber-coloured collection that deviated little from standard suit and coat cuts.

"I imagined a luxurious, masculine chic, but without pretension, a subtle collection with a focus on the cut and a choice of top-of-the-line materials," Basmajian told AFP. "Working for this international house, with Italian roots and based in Paris, allows me to take advantage of all my past experiences. Ahead of his arrival at Cerruti last year, Basmajian had worked at Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, S.T. Dupont and Brioni before taking his talents to legendary British tailor Gieves & Hawkes. (AFP)

Photos: Vogue