Atelier Versace Fall Winter 2012 2013 Paris Haute Couture

Atelier Versace Kicks Off Paris Haute Couture Week With a Magnificent Show, Seen by Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Matthew Morrison, Elizabeth Banks and More Stars

Haute couture week in Paris has begun.

The regal Stella Tennant, frequent model for Chanel and other fashion houses, breezed past me in the hallway at the Hotel le Bristol, the elegant French hotel where Woody Allen resided during the filming of “Midnight in Paris.”

Impeccably-dressed women fill the streets of Paris. And celebrity sightings abound. The Versace show alone drew Lea Michele, Cory Monteith and Matthew Morrison of “Glee;” Christina Hendricks of “Mad Men;” Jessica Alba of “Sin City,” Brosnan, Pierce Brosnan of “007″ fame; Elizabeth Banks of “The Hunger Games,” Milla Jovovich of “Resident Evil,” Chinese actress Fan Bingbing, British recording star M.I.A. and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and her daughter, Bee Shaffer.

Atelier Versace, in fact, got the week’s fashion extravaganza in motion with a July 1 show at the Ritz Hotel, with a fall winter 2012 2013 collection of dramatically short mini-dresses and long gowns slit high on the thigh. (No stranger to high-slit skirts, Versace is the house that dressed Angelina Jolie for Oscar night.)

Inspired by the imagery in tarot cards – the sun, the moon and the world – fashions caught the light with layers of transparent plastic and patches of silicone, pearl and crystal mesh. Embroideries of the tarot symbols added to the luxurious look of fashions that emphasized the form, either through a close-to-the-body bodice or whisper-light silks that floated gracefully and revealingly as models moved down the catwalk.

Taking place over the hotel’s covered swimming pool, Versace logo at the top of the runway, the show ended with Donatella Versace taking her bow to an extremely appreciative crowd.

Top photo: A tarot-inspired gown from the Versace Fall Winter 2012 2013 Paris haute couture collection

Bottom photo: Cory Monteith and Lea Michele of “Glee” among the stars at the Versace fall winter 2012 2013 Paris haute couture fashion show shown at the Ritz Hotel

All photos courtesy of Versace

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