Givenchy walks on the dark side in Paris show

January 28, 2010 |11:31 | Fashion Shows By : Team X

Givenchy walks on the dark side in Paris show A circus vibe permeated Givenchy's spring-summer 2010 haute couture show on Tuesday, but this was the kind of circus where the tightrope walkers perform without a rope and the lion tamer regularly gets eaten.

Designer Riccardo Tisci, a regular of the dark side, sent out a sumptuous collection of beaded pantsuits and sheer organza dresses - often paired with variations on the ringmaster's long tail coat - that fairly seethed with foreboding of black events to come.

Looks that deserved a spot on the centre ring in Tisci's dangerous big top were the column skirt covered in minute emerald beads and a sheer silk top and a pantsuit and cropped jacket in electric blue beads that looked made for the world's chicest lion tamer.

The show, which had been edited down to just 22 looks, had plenty of the kinds of organza and sequin concoctions that in the hands of most other designers would have come off as fluffy or, at best, pretty.

But Tisci is able to imbue even the daintiest and sweetest of looks with a subversive edge that makes you take one look at the ingenue sporting his powder pink silk cocktail number and feel the need to check whether she's wielding a knife behind her back.

Singer Ciara - who took in the spectacle from her front row perch next to Kanye West and his girlfriend, Amber Rose - said she was attracted by Givenchy's darker side.

The label "is about taking risks, and having edge and being strong," the singer said in a backstage interview.

Ciara, who was wearing a brown and ecru printed top from Givenchy's ready-to-wear collection, said she had her eye on the electric blue pantsuit to wear at her concerts.

Clearly, she sees herself as a lion tamer.