Dior vaunts carefree times

French superbrand Christian Dior on Monday staved off fears of recession with an ode to the carefree Sixties, sending out fur coats and swinging skirt suits fit for a latter-day Mrs. Robinson.

To the Simon & Garfunkel song of the same name, models tripped out in loose-fitting cropped jackets and above-the-knee skirts in tangy shades of orange, lime and fuchsia that brought to mind former U.S. first lady Jacqueline Kennedy.

Guests including Hollywood star Lucy Liu watched the parade, set in a tent in the Tuileries gardens against a spectacular set of cascading water.

The no-expense-spared bash was Dior's antidote to a retail climate undermined by fears of a U.S. recession, rising energy prices and a weak dollar.

"When times are tough, the mistake is to throw in the towel," Dior CEO Sidney Toledano told The Associated Press. "I always use this metaphor: when the kids are not hungry, you have to cook even nicer dishes to stoke their appetite."

Dior's British designer John Galliano happily obliged. Models with hair coiffed into Barbarella-style bouffants displayed flowing evening gowns in psychedelic prints to rival their Technicolor eye makeup.

Toledano said Dior plans to open some 15 stores this year in China, India, the Middle East and Europe. Sales at Christian Dior Couture rose 8 percent in 2007, and the company is aiming for "tangible growth" in its results for 2008.

The R-word -- recession -- has prompted some designers to play safe this season, while others have piled on the glitz in a bid to attract customers from oil-rich emerging markets.

Labels showing in Paris will be banking on novelty, with Italian designer Alessandra Facchinetti showing her first collection for Valentino and Colombian-born Esteban Cortazar making his debut at Emanuel Ungaro.

British design duo Eley Kishimoto will breathe new life into French label Cacharel, while Sonia Rykiel has promoted its longtime studio director Gabrielle Greiss to artistic director of its women's wear division.

Linda Fargo, vice president of visual merchandising at Bergdorf Goodman, was hesitant to read any economic significance into the recent catwalk collections in New York, London and Milan.

"I don't think that there was particularly any visible skimping on materials and execution and construction," she said.

Fargo acknowledged, however, that the uncertain outlook was making retailers more demanding.

"Every season, you always look for things which are exciting and which will motivate and create aspiration in design -- maybe now more than ever," she said. "If somebody just gives you exactly the same, why are you going to put something new in your closet?"