Pieces of a Chinese Pattern

PARIS — The folk music of the Grammy-winning Bon Iver was quiet and contained, the pace slow and gentle under the chandeliers and gilding of the Paris mayor’s palace.

But Dries Van Noten ’s show on Wednesday was a stunning take on the ethnic prints from other cultures that have always been the designer’s signature.

This time the patterns were Asian and noble, but contained within a framework of modern, even masculine, clothes: coats and jackets, often in khaki.

These geometric pieces of a pattern played with the male/female aesthetic, a continuing story in the early days of the Paris winter 2012 season.

The successful designers are those who can serve up a fashion fusion of print and shape. The yin and yang of the collection was the tailored, even military silhouette, contrasting with vivid pattern and color. Those striking prints were not inspired by Chinese robes. Instead, the patterns were literally taken from historic garments via digital photography.

In collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Mr. Van Noten abstracted the patterns, re-shaped them horizontally where they might have been vertical; or he caught one of those traditional flying cranes in motion on the breast. Almost nothing had pattern from head to toe.

“It was about taking pictures of Chinese court dress, re-cutting them to use the shapes in a graphic way,” said the designer, who even managed to insert knife pleats as a floating attachment to jacket and pants.

The whole story was in that containment, so controlled and sophisticated compared with the ethnic patterns at the start of Mr. Van Noten’s career. The pantsuits and a wealth of trousers made even the most vibrant Chinoiserie or Japonisme patterns seem wearable, especially when the print was just a patch on white wool or silk.

Last season, Dries Van Noten men’s wear had artists in action, painting graphics on the walls. This time, the designer brought his artistry direct to the clothes — beautifully.

The square patterns in quiet colors that dominated the Rochas show, were, according to the creative director Marco Zanini, inspired by the Nordic modernism of the Swedish artist and potter Wilhelm Kage.

That seemed a long way from the 1950s elegance of the last season, but it made for a credible collection in muted colors and with rich textures. The base of this wearable wardrobe was in sporty pants or easy skirts with knitted cardigan jackets, again suggesting a Nordic winter. All that was elevated from mere sportswear by the gilded gleam on a coat or rich fabric textiles and embroideries.

There is always a faint perfume of Prada around printed squares, but Mr. Zanini made them his own, especially for evening, when the splodgy, painterly patterns on the rounded skirts of long dresses were gracefully shaped and never seemed like ball gowns.

Metallic necklaces with the look of an Alexander Calder mobile were also original. Yet the identity of the Rochas woman, elegant as she is, still seems to be in a state of flux.

“Last season was sky diving; this one is underground,” said Felipe Oliveira Baptista , referring to the hard edge of his collection, with the designer using pieces of shiny patent leather, even for gloves, to create a sharp attitude.

If the touches of zebra pattern had a Punk resonance, most of the clothes were best defined as the geometry of workwear: overalls, with the patent strips across the arms; simple separates with color blocks.

The collection was drawn in right angles, bringing geometric lines to every outfit. Held in an army museum with examples of uniforms through the ages, Mr. Baptista could have made more of the tough, military look.