Has Bill Gaytten found his groove at Galliano? Fall’s rigid, severe collection for women put a complete full-stop on the gorgeous but exhausting—and exhausted—creative chaos that defined the tenure of the man whose name is still on the label. Then came a Spring collection for men that hurtled off in a new direction—techno, lurid, courage of its convictions and all that. That direction was compounded today with Gaytten’s womenswear for Spring 2014. It had a colorful, synthetic, almost cartoonish kick. Like Pop Rocks. Which was why Azealia Banks banging her way through “212” on the soundtrack sounded fizzy enough to dodge the not-her-again bullet.

That cartoonishness came through in a sci-fi Betty Boop (or maybe it was Minnie Mouse) quality. There were short, flaring dresses, belted tightly at the waist; zippered neoprenes, eye-popping or icy-cold; embellishments of laser-cut petals, or punched perforations that looked like the notorious hanging chads of U.S. electoral legend. They all contributed to an airy, go-fast urgency that put Gaytten fair and square in Spring’s athletic camp. And Stephen Jones outdid himself with hats that were either perforated visors or aerated racing bike helmets. In the light of which, a handful of gala gowns at the end of the show felt like an incongruous concession to alt-Galliano, like Norma Shearer, all dressed up, gate-crashing sports night. Mind you, those gowns, made of sheets of organza, looked pretty damn glamorous.

BRAND: JOHN GALLIANO  |  JOHN GALLIANO OFFICIAL WEBSITE

It was just like old times: the antique cabaret that Jean Paul Gaultier could reclaim as his own; guest appearances by extravagant personalities of stage and screen; the opportunity for models to display facets of their personalities other than the ability to walk from one end of a catwalk to the other—put them all together and you found yourself in the midst of the kind of captivating spectacle that Gaultier used to be able to toss off in his sleep. Maybe it was moving away from that HQ on the rue Saint-Martin that re-triggered his Mr. Showbiz gene, but Gaultier staged something so irresistible that even Catherine Deneuve was clapping in time by the finale. And it was satisfyingly wicked, too: The sensational reconceptualization of Grease's "You're the One That I Want," with Coco Rocha playing the Travolta role, was a fabulously sly acknowledgment of the ambiguous roots of the original John 'n' Livie performance.

The invitation summoned us to dance with the stars, and a panel of judges, helmed by the fearsome Rossy de Palma, was parked center stage to pass judgment on the models as they pranced and danced. Gold stars to Rocha, obviously, and Hannelore Knuts—who managed a pretty fierce tango—and Karlie Kloss, whose elongated frame was heaven-sent for voguing. It was an entrancing notion that Gaultier might have had Step Up and its celluloid progeny in mind when he was creating his collection. There was certainly a much street-ier, more straightforward Gaultier on show than usual. But his street was all over the place. He opened with quiffed-up black-leathered biker molls, girls who were just plain bad from the get-go. Then he toyed with the dance hall (she wore a leather pencil skirt with a diagonal zip, lace top, sweater knotted around the neck, fishnets, beret). Then rap (Liu Wen in a red tracksuit) and Amy Winehouse. And Gaultier's trans-tux covered the he/she bases so effectively (fishnetted leg and all), it couldn't help but drag us back to the moment when he was The Man.

BRAND: JEAN PAUL GAULTIER  |  JEAN PAUL GAULTIER OFFICIAL WEBSITE

"A handsome woman" was Haider Ackermann's précis backstage. It was an efficient summary of a new collection that stuck resolutely to the gender play that is a signature of his brand. Tailored jackets with a flourish at the lapels, and trousers with a lot of action at the waist—these are the Ackermann trademarks. But after the heavy woolen houndstooths and sculpted army fatigues of his last collection, he turned instead to the shimmering metallic fabrics we're seeing so much of elsewhere this week, amping up the color and shine. The multicolor crystals embroidered on a man's jacket were a nice bit of unexpectedness, and the dandy factor was similarly high on a boxy sapphire jacket and slouchy amethyst pants combo. Inserted in between the tailoring were long dresses in tulle and silk pleated Fortuny-style. When layered with other pieces, these served the cause of lightness well. But worn without a jacket, as they were a few times here, the dresses were more wanton than handsome; they'll pose problems of the see-through sort that Ackermann chose not to concern himself with. That's the kind of indulgence that eventually proves tiresome, even from a designer as talented as the one in question here. Which is why it was a minor thrill to see him try his hand at something genuinely new for him. Mixed in among his dandified layers was a pair of minimal black jumpsuits. Sleek and simple. Even better was a black off-the-shoulder dress that dipped into a precipitous V in back, its tight sleeves apparently suspending it in place. We'd like to see Ackermann push a lot further into new territory next season.

BRAND: HAIDER ACKERMANN  |  HAIDER ACKERMANN OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Tonight at Givenchy the photographers were kicking up a fuss about Kim and Kanye, as usual. We were back at the Halle Freyssinet, and the show was once more in the round accompanied by live performers. But beyond those first-impression factors, we saw a very different Riccardo Tisci. The hothouse flowers, the Disney deer, the mad bunching of fabrics around the waistline from Fall—all gone. In their place was something that was by comparison rather restrained, every last look gliding out calmly on flat sandals.

Tisci is one of the most popular high-fashion designers working today; members of his fan club are instantly identifiable in their graphic tees and sweatshirts. Backstage he hinted that it was time to do something else, and smartly so. He had the same inclination a year ago and turned to ecclesiastical ruffles. For 2014, he's done a lot of thinking about Japan and Africa. "It's a car crash of the two cultures—the fragility of Japan and the draping of Africa," he said. To underline his point, Tisci had a smoking pileup of vintage Benzes, BMWs, and Jaguars in the center of the runway.

The crash was lurid in its made-for-Instagram way, a counterpoint to the clothes, which were elegant not quite to the point of refusal. Kimono-inflected suits came with twisted lapels, flaring sleeves, and interplays of matte and shine, with a filmy little layer between jacket and pants—like stepping out the door in your silk robe and pajamas. Dresses were draped a hundred different ways: from a ring below the throat, from an integral necklace that dipped to the navel, from a rugged leather strap slung over the shoulders like suspenders. To begin, Tisci showed them in stretch jersey, and by the end they were awash in pastel embroidery, or pleated and strewn with sequins, slinking quickly into flashy territory. The jersey dresses were the ones that resonated. They were thousands of miles away from last season, and still indisputably Tisci.

BRAND: GIVENCHY  |  GIVENCHY OFFICIAL WEBSITE

One thing you can say for sure about Jacquemus: The brand's attitude of youthful exuberance is not affected. Simon Porte Jacquemus launched the label four years ago, when he was just nineteen; the young women he designs for are his peers as much as they're his muses.

That might account for the realism of his clothes. This season, Jacquemus was spinning a tale of a girl who goes to visit the seaside town of La Grande Motte, in the South of France, and his geometric construction reflected the fifties-era architecture of the place. But he cut those looks in cotton, and everything was wearable. He is not a designer getting lost in his concept.

Nor is he a designer trying too hard to make a big editorial statement—his sleeve silhouettes had a touch of Céline about them, which made them feel au courant, but it was just a suggestion. The debt wasn't onerous. In any case, the playful tees and graphic sweatshirts didn't look like anything other than the kind of thing the peppy Jacquemus girl is going to want to have in her wardrobe come spring.

BRAND: JACQUEMUS  |  JACQUEMUS OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Exuberance is paying off for Fausto Puglisi at home in Milan. His first runway show for his signature label was a moment we might remember as a turning point for young designers there. He's having a harder time getting the Emanuel Ungaro relaunch off the ground in Paris, though. There are a number of factors at work: too many similarities to his own line, a borderline garish color palette—but, most of all, it's that exuberance. Puglisi gets the house codes almost too well. More often than not, there was just far too much going on in a single look: patch pockets, stripes, polka dots, and ruffles? Enough already. Puglisi was better today when he was thinking along simpler lines, as in a densely knit yellow and black striped tank worn with leather pants that had a single sculpted ruffle down one leg. "For me," he said, "it's important to be not just a couture celebration but a real-life celebration." That's the right attitude: Design clothes not just for special occasions but for women's daily lives. We'll swipe the credit card for that. Unfortunately, a reliance on chiffon—an Ungaro essential that Puglisi hadn't explored until now—meant there weren't enough of the deluxe basics he was preaching about. Next time, he needs to find a middle ground between all the excess and those plain white T-shirts with "Paris" splayed across the back.

BRAND: EMANUEL UNGARO  |  EMANUEL UNGARO OFFICIAL WEBSITE