- Joe Root: England's elegant Test record-breaker
- Braving war: Lebanon's 'badass' airline defies odds
- Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Hezbollah strikes Israel, says it foiled Israeli incursions
- Jurgen Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Sinner to face Medvedev in Shanghai Masters quarter-finals
- US weighs Google breakup in landmark trial
- Record-breaking Root guides England to 232-2 in reply to Pakistan's 556
- Japan PM dissolves parliament for 'honeymoon' snap election
- Chinese stocks tumble on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- 7-Eleven owner confirms new takeover offer from Couche-Tard
- Goodbye Tito? Tomb at risk as Serbs argue over Yugoslav legacy
- Restoration experts piece together silent Sherlock Holmes mystery
- Sinner avoids Shanghai deja vu with assured Shelton win
- Pyongyang to 'permanently' shut border with South Korea
- Trumpet star Marsalis says jazz creates 'balance' in divided world
- No children left on Greece's famed but emptying island
- Nepali becomes youngest to climb world's 8,000m peaks
- Climate change made deadly Hurricane Helene more intense: study
- A US climate scientist sees hurricane Helene's devastation firsthand
- Padres edge Dodgers, Mets on the brink
- Can carbon credits help close coal plants?
- With EU funding, Tunisian farmer revives parched village
- Sega ninja game 'Shinobi' gets movie treatment
- Boeing suspends negotiations with striking workers
- 7-Eleven owner's shares spike on report of new buyout offer
- Your 'local everything': what 7-Eleven buyout battle means for Japan
- Three million UK children living below poverty line: study
- China's Jia brings film spanning love, change over decades to Busan
- Paying out disaster relief before climate catastrophe strikes
- Chinese shares drop on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- SE Asian summit seeks progress on Myanmar civil war
- How climate funds helped Peru's women beekeepers stay afloat
- Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded as wars rage
- Pacific island nations swamped by global drug trade
- AI-aided research, new materials eyed for Nobel Chemistry Prize
- Mozambique elects new president in tense vote
- The US economy is solid: Why are voters gloomy?
- Balkan summit to rally support for struggling Ukraine
- New stadium gives Real Madrid a headache
- Alonso, Manaea shine as 'Miracle Mets' blitz Phillies
- Harris, Trump trade blows in US election media blitz
- Harry's Bar in Paris drinks to US straw-poll centenary
- Osama bin Laden's son Omar banned from returning to France
- Afghan man arrested for plotting US election day attack
- Brazil lifts ban on Musk's X, ending standoff over disinformation
- Harris holds slight edge nationally over Trump: poll
- Chelsea edge Real Madrid in Women's Champions League, Lyon win
- Japan PM to dissolve parliament for 'honeymoon' snap election
- 'Diego Lives': Immersive Maradona exhibit hits Barcelona
Paris Fashion Week coloured by scandal and grief
Paris Fashion Week launched Monday with touches of scandal and grief, as Balenciaga tries to move past recent controversies while Vivienne Westwood and Paco Rabanne hold their first shows since their founders' deaths.
The womenswear week in the French capital caps a hectic February for the fashion world, following on the heels of New York, London and Milan.
All eyes are on Balenciaga -- which was on a hot streak until late last year, with innovative catwalk shows and celebrity superfans driving up sales.
It came to an abrupt halt after a spectacularly ill-considered ad campaign that appeared to reference child abuse, featuring children with teddy bear bags that had studs and harnesses, and surrounded by adult items including wine glasses.
Balenciaga also had to cut ties with Kanye West -- who modelled for its last show in Paris in September -- after the rapper's controversial comments about Jews.
The scandals hit the bottom line. Coupled with a slump at Gucci, parent company Kering saw fourth-quarter revenues slump by seven percent.
Profusely apologising in the pages of Vogue, Balenciaga's creative director Demna has vowed to abandon his provocative approach and get back to basics at this week's show on Sunday.
"I have decided to go back to my roots in fashion as well as to the roots of Balenciaga, which is making quality clothes -- not making image or buzz," he said.
- Posthumous shows -
There is also interest in how Schiaparelli, led by US designer Daniel Roseberry, follows its eye-catching haute couture show in January when the use of fake animal heads sharply divided audiences.
Before then, the opening day focuses on young designers before the big-hitters such as Christian Dior and Saint Laurent return to the catwalk on Tuesday.
Wednesday will see the first show from the house of Paco Rabanne since his death at the age of 88 earlier this month.
And the first Vivienne Westwood show since the dame's death in December will be held on Saturday. Her label's designs have been overseen by her widower, Andreas Kronthaler, for several years.
Pierre Cardin is also returning to the official calendar for the first time in 25 years, following the death of its founder in late 2020.
The new collection has been put together by the label's in-house team rather than collaborating with an outside designer, so as not to "distort Pierre Cardin," its director Rodrigo Basilicati-Cardin told AFP.
Fashionistas are also excited to see the first collection from hot young French designer Ludovic de Saint Sernin in his new role at Belgian house Ann Demeulemeester, previously known for its minimalist and monochrome aesthetic.
Y.Nakamura--AMWN