Paris Frill Seekers

Like the quintessential bored French shopgirl, the fashion world has fallen into a daze--lulled by expensive handbags, too many peasant blouses and endless low-rise jeans. Even Miuccia Prada's bookish cardigan-and-pleated-skirt look, which caused a splash a mere 18 months ago, feels old. Everyone has done it now.

So when the thousands of journalists, magazine editors and department- and specialty-store buyers from around the world trekked to Paris last week for the spring 2006 collections, they were looking for more than the safe, crisp poplin trench coats and soft sleeveless dresses many designers were offering. They wanted to be worked into a lather about something. And eventually they were--by the skinny pants and fancy frills that Nicolas Ghesquière, 34, showed at Balenciaga, the Camille Claudel-like attenuated hourglass silhouettes of Olivier Theyskens at Rochas and John Galliano's surprisingly minimalist nude-chiffon-and-black-lace dresses for Dior. In Paris, at least, the frill is not gone. "We've all been waiting for a definitive moment," said Neiman Marcus fashion director Joan Kaner. "We've seen a lot of salable, wearable clothes but nothing that says this is the new direction. Ghesquière and Theyskens did that."

Funny thing about fashion: just when everyone--including the copycats who are now a mouse-click away--is cashing in on the look of the moment, some Young Turk will thrust a seemingly absurd idea onto the runway and turn the multibillion-dollar global business on its head. Prada did it when she introduced that ladylike look just as every fashionista was baring her navel. And a year ago, Italian designer Stefano Pilati gave the crowd at his debut Yves Saint Laurent show a jolt when he suggested the awkward silhouette of short, tulip-shaped skirts and puff-sleeved blouses. The audience left the show cursing and returned six months later dressed head to toe in the stuff.

"This is the only industry where the same small audience comes back every six months expecting something completely different," said Ghesquière after his show last week. "I have a responsibility to them. I have to surprise them." He did exactly that, electrifying the front-row regulars with his rock-'n'-roll pantsuits and frothy Marie-Antoinette blouses. But Ghesquière also acknowledges the need to be commercial in order to bring a fabled house like Balenciaga back to life. And so he designs wildly popular handbags, like the hippie-style Lariat, and more accessible ancillary collections of pants and jackets that sell at lower price points. "I want Balenciaga to grow, so I follow the rules. I do the commercial pieces in precollection and capsule collections that are not shown on the runway."

So far it's working. According to François-Henri Pinault, CEO of Balenciaga owner PPR, Ghesquière has delivered higher figures than originally expected. "Balenciaga is an even more international brand than we thought," he said before the Stella McCartney show last Thursday. "He has a very strong image, but he is always challenging it. He is a searcher."