Louis-VuittonIf Mad Max’s female companions ever go shopping in their dystopian desert future-world, Louis Vuitton just might have an outfit to suit. The French fashion label on Wednesday unveiled a Spring/Summer collection at the Paris shows worthy of Road Warrior groupies: half bionic warrior, half punk ballerina.

The clothes boasted embroidery and protection, leather and zips, and bands that wrapped around knuckles and palms in a way reminiscent of boxers’ hand wraps. Vuitton vixens, as it were. Designer Nicolas Ghesquiere emphasised the sci-fi accent to his show, held at the space-age Louis Vuitton Foundation art gallery in Paris.

The first model to beam down looked as if she was ripped from a Japanese manga, with hair and jacket dyed a matching pink. The following legion of anarchic amazons boasted garments that were alternately diaphanous, or bristling with back-off touches like metal or kick-ass boots. Some models’ ears were silvered over, lending them a Terminator air. Long eyelashes hardened gazes into laser-like optics.

The overall effect threw an androgynous cast over the collection, underlined by men’s vests and multi-colored trousers and shorts, and zips brazenly on display. French movie legend Catherine Deneuve, sat in the front row, hailed the work by Ghesquiere. “He is always looking at material and shape, he is so futurist and incredibly talented at it,” she told AFP. “There are some superb items: I love the frothy dresses and also the embroidered skirts, all of which move.”— AFP