PARIS HAUTE COUTURE WEEK-Day 1 Hits and Misses

Yesterday was day one of the 4 day haute couture show home to Paris, which sees handpicked labels unleash their extravagant and lavish creations to the world. Lavish being the operative word, as these garments can be priced anywhere between tens and even hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The reason being that each garment is hand-made from start to finish making it a one of a kind suitable to anyone wealthy enough to buy a piece.

As ever in the world of fashion there were extreme hits and misses.

Starting with the hit, newcomer Giambattista Valli did nothing but dazzle audiences with his 45 perfectly cohesive but still varied designs.

The Roman-born designer who dresses Queen Rania, Penelope Cruz, Victoria Beckham, was said to have conquered Paris in the Galerie de la Madeleine with his signature white caped jackets and translucent chiffon dresses kept to classic shades of coral and magenta.

Valli, who trained with fashion legends Emanuel Ungaro and Roberto Capucci, who has only merely dabbles with couture in the past is said to have clearly exhibited work fit to suite someone twice his age and experience.

His presentation yesterday has certainly secured him a bona fide place within the big brand super league of designers.

Now onto the miss, for the first time in 15 years the autumn/winter haute couture season opened in Paris yesterday with a Christian Dior show that did not feature John Galliano. To say that the relatively unknown designer Bill Gaytten's, who worked with Galliano for more than 20 years, had his work cut out would be an understatement.

However what isn't an understatement is the unanimously bland reaction he caused amongst audiences. With the large criticism being that his work lacked any cohesion making it appear as though numerous pieces were all blocked into one untidy show.

Gone were any of Dior's signature tailored jackets and coats, and very much visible were bright oversized petal skirts, blocks of colour with ruffled shirts all accentuated through the models drastic makeup and larger than life hair.

Which led to the only few positive comments made of the show being well executed in terms of visuals.

In some ways the misfire is surprising. The Dior seamstresses and tailors are among the best in the. Although Dior was absolutely right to dismiss Galliano, what isn't right is the weak show put on especially with the likes of Giambattista Valli showcasing on the same day.

Bill Gaytten - who took a bow at Monday's show, though Dior executives were quick to stress he has not officially taken over the reins at the house. And, officially, Dior is still looking.

See our slideshows for pictures of both Dior's and Giambattista Valli designs.