ON THE WEB

This week at latimes.com/image:

Paris preview Fashion Week is off with a Baroque Big Bang at Balenciaga, as Nicolas Ghesquiere trades last season’s ikat prints and schoolboy jackets for romantic florals and brocades. He uses the couture-quality fabrics to fashion laced and corseted tunics, jackets and mini dresses beautifully sculpted with outsized shoulders and turtle backs, bringing to mind a modern-day Marie Antoinette. At Dior, John Galliano channels Marlene Dietrich with impeccably tailored, three-piece trouser suits paired with banker’s vests and white shirts, and Joan Crawford with lady suits that have linebacker-sized shoulders. He finishes things off in the boudoir with bias-cut dresses, silk teddies and robes. And the shoes? Three-strap Mary Janes with mirrored, cutout heels are deliciously vampy. Junya Watanabe captures the romance of the spring season with crinkly, floral print waistcoats, and Jun Takashi throws a subversive summer party at Undercover, complete with black flower leis. It’s not Poiret but Poirot the clown who inspires Viktor & Rolf, and Rick Owens explores his sunnier side with geometric black-and-white prints. And what’s James Dyson doing on the runway at Issey Miyake? Take a look at the galleries of the early shows from Paris Fashion Week.

Video Tuesday: A 10-year retrospective of the Gen Art shows.

All the Rage Monica Corcoran blogs about style and culture.

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Galleries:

Runway collections Highlights from Milan, London and New York.

Gen Art Preview Friday’s Gen Art shows by Wren and Endovanera.

St. John Looks from the Spring/Resort 2008 show in Orange County.

Wes Anderson Stills from “Rushmore” to “Darjeeling Limited.”

Neiman Marcus Milestones from 100 years of luxury.