By THOMAS ADAMSON, AP Fashion Editor

It was “la Vie en Rose” for Valentino that headlined the Paris Fashion Week segment on Sunday with a bold but triumphant pink collection as VIP guests including Lewis Hamilton and Zendaya had to negotiate arrivals during of a car-free day in the center of the capital.

Meanwhile, Balenciaga’s show invite – a cracked iPhone 6S – has raised eyebrows for being a waste.

Here are some highlights of the fall-winter 2022 ready-to-wear collections:

PRETTY IN PINK (SHOCKING)

An omnipresent pink decor spread over Le Carreau du Temple in the Marais.

It was a Valentino collection like no other – where the majority of 81’s exhaustive, often minimalist looks – came in shocking pink.

It was certainly a bold move for designer Pierpaolo Piccioli, given the potential for ready-to-wear styles to appear repetitive. Scalloped shoulder detailing appeared on loose silhouettes with generous, generous proportions, bright pink above chunky ’70s platforms. A minimalist tulip-shaped skirt was surreal and angular. While a soft tuxedo jacket was so oversized that its shoulders fell off the model’s own shoulders in the chic segments.

But just when pink was starting to feel endless, the Italian master couturier switched to a black palette – as if to say there’s a dark underbelly of all things soft. It was an effective contrast and demonstrated his deft control of design.

Piccioli was trying to show that by removing color, or the need for color, attention can focus solely on form and silhouette. It was a triumph.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has been hailed over the years for her efforts to reduce pollution in Paris, a European Union capital often listed among those with the worst air quality.

On Sunday, the first four arrondissements of the French capital were closed to car traffic from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. as part of a monthly initiative. This alleviated the energy-guzzling behavior of many fashion editors criss-crossing Paris several times a day in taxis or chauffeured transport.

Valentino’s guests had presented a special dispensation card to enter the area.

THE ART OF INVITATION

The art of the chic invitation is still a staple of the luxury industry in Paris.

Houses compete to produce the most eye-catching, inventive and flamboyant show invitations, often delivered by an energy-guzzling courier to each guest’s home or business address with no regard for the ecology.

Small works of art sometimes give a hint of what the collection has in store; other times they’re just plain wacky.

An example of this was the invitation to Isabel Marant’s show: a shimmering silver box inside which was a musical instrument – an actual carved wooden recorder.

Loewe’s invitation was a pure snap: a large, square meter piece of thin rubber hidden inside a small metal cylinder setting the tone for Jonathan Anderson’s avant-garde display.

Saint Laurent’s invitation was pure luxury: a black leather wallet — initialized with the respective guest’s name — with YSL embossed in gold metal on the front.

While perhaps the most eccentric – and pointless – invitation ever seen was Balenciaga’s, which included a damaged iPhone 6S with a cracked screen and a laser-etched message detailing the invitation.

ATLEIN RECEIVES HIS MORNING COFFEE

Atlein, a French brand committed to sustainable design whose name is inspired by the Atlantic Ocean, focuses on the body, energy and movement.

In this parade, Antonin Tron has chosen to reinterpret the recycling of fashion. Sustainable design is a cornerstone for Tron, which has in the past taken looks from previous collections and recycled them. On Sunday, a model’s face was covered in a thick veil that used recycled fabrics.

But there were also moments of variation on the theme of recycling. Nespresso capsules were used to construct a sheath dress – in a memorable, Instagram-ready design feat. Elsewhere, the sturdy material used for a veil has become an autumn raincoat, a jacket or a wrap skirt. They were folded, effortlessly, like origami.

There were also nods to trends – silhouettes were slim, with black pleated leather pants and black ruched dresses, infused throughout the collection with moments of sparkle in ocean blue, shocking pink, acid green and silver flash of jewels.

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