AP PHOTOS: Parish Fashion Week returns after virus hiatus

Women in sunglasses and body-hugging designs sashayed down a sleek, black runway beneath an Eiffel Tower glowing orange in the night.

Wisps of fringe swished from the hem of a lemon-yellow creation, its model clutching a shiny handbag adorned with safety pins.

The eyes of the couture world were fixed even more than usual on France's always-chic capital in recent days, as designers showed off their latest work for Paris Fashion Week after going mostly virtual for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

While most of this season's 97 shows remained online as the country recovers from another wave of COVID-19 infections in the summer, about a third did opt for a physical return to the runway, including industry heavyweights from Chanel and Hermes to Louis Vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent.