Knights & Narnia

Narnia was a cupboard land, full of fanciful mystery, imagined by C.S.Lewis. A neutral palette of powder snow, fauns and ice queens. It is a magical kingdom of metallic ancient armour, crowns and castles. Such a fluffy fairytale imagination has inspired couturiers to delve into the costume box.In the recent couture shows Jean Paul Gaultier created mythical mermaids saturated in sequins with a shell-like delicacy for Spring 2008. Gaultier’s metallic mini-dress with chain mail links was complemented by long medieval locks. Another Tolkein-inspired creation was an intricate gown of golden armoured aardvark scales. Gaultier is the architect of his own style of fantasy-land adornment.Chanel too, showed soft gowns in sea-froth and steel colours. Sheer, iridescent fabrics juxtaposed gilded embellishments and capacious silhouettes. There’s definitely something mythical in the water.Elie Saab presented enchanting princess gowns with fantastical cascading flowers in oyster-ivory hues. Couture has certainly been dreaming up some enchanted looks.■ BexBella.