The richest state in the United States by GDP, California is a hotbed of no-holds-barred tech innovation, but lawmakers in state capital Sacramento want to give the industry laws and guardrails it has largely been spared in the internet age.

Brussels has enacted a barrage of laws on US-dominated tech and sprinted to pass the AI Act after OpenAI's Microsoft-backed ChatGPT arrived on the scene in late 2022, unleashing a global AI race.

"What we're trying to do is actually learn from the Europeans, but also work with the Europeans, and figure out how to put regulations in place on AI," said David Harris, senior policy advisor at the California Initiative for Technology and Democracy.

As they have in the past with EU laws on private data, lawmakers in California are looking to recent European legislation on AI, especially given the little hope of equivalent national legislation out of Washington.

There are at least 30 different bills proposed by California state legislators that relate to various aspects of AI, according to Harris, who said he has advised officials here and in Europe on such laws.

Proposed laws in California range from requiring AI makers to reveal what was used to train models to banning election ads containing any computer generated features.

"One of the aspects I think is really important is the question of how we deal with deepfakes or fake text created to look like a human being is sending you messages," Harris told AFP.

State assembly member Gail Pellerin is backing a bill she says would essentially ban the spreading of deceptive digital content created with generative AI in the months leading up to and the weeks following an election.

"Bad actors who are utilizing this are really hoping to create chaos in an election," Pellerin said.

- Law-breaking 'bad guys' -

Industry association NetChoice is dead set against importing aspects of European legislation on AI, or any other EU tech regulation.

"They are taking, essentially, a European approach on artificial intelligence - which is that we must ban the technology," said Carl Szabo, the general counsel of the association, which advocates for light touch regulation of tech.

"Outlawing AI won't stop (anything). It's bad because bad guys don't follow the law," Szabo argued.

"That's what makes them bad guys."

US computer software giant Adobe, like most tech giants, worked with Europe on the AI Act, according to Adobe General Counsel and Chief Trust Officer Dana Rao.

At the heart of the EU AI Act is a risk-based approach, with AI practices deemed more risky getting more scrutiny.

"We feel good about where the AI Act ended up" with its high-risk, low-risk approach, said Rao.

Already, Adobe engineers carry out "impact assessments" to rate risk before making AI products available, according to Rao.

"You want to think about nuclear safety, about cybersecurity, about when AI is making substantial decisions over human rights," Rao said.

- 'Watching California' -

In California, Rao said he expected the problem of deepfakes to be the first to fall under the authority of a new law.

Assembly Bill 602 would criminalize non-consensual deepfake pornography while Assembly Bill 730 bans the use of AI deepfakes during election campaign season.

To fight this, Adobe joined other companies to create "content credentials" that Rao equated to a "nutrition label" for digital content.

Assemblywoman Pellerin expects AI laws adopted in California to be replicated in other states.

"People are watching California," Pellerin said, with a slew of US states also working on their own AI deepfake bills.

"We're all in this together; we have to stay ahead of the folks that are trying to wreak havoc in an election," she said.

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The series has featured a number of debuts on both sides with new talent shining in the absence of seasoned campaigners such as Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Jack Leach.

AFP Sport highlights five emerging stars who look to have a bright future in Tests:

- Dhruv Jurel -

Wicketkeeper-batsman Jurel marked his debut in Rajkot's third Test with a first-innings 46 to give a glimpse of his promise.

Jurel then displayed nerves of steel to rescue India from trouble twice in the fourth Test in Ranchi with 90 in the first innings to guide his side from 177-7 to 307 and then a match-winning 39 not out.

The 23-year-old faced a hat-trick ball when he joined Shubman Gill at 120-5 chasing 192 but calmly blunted England's spinners to guide his side to a five-wicket triumph that showed "composure and maturity", said captain Rohit Sharma.

- Sarfaraz Khan -

Middle-order batsman Sarfaraz also made his debut in Rajkot and was emotional as he received his Test cap with his teary-eyed father and wife watching.

The 26-year-old immediately repaid the selectors by cracking 62 off 66 balls in the first innings before being run out.

Sarfaraz remained unbeaten on 68 off 72 balls in the second to help set up India's declaration as they won by a massive 434 runs.

- Akash Deep -

Fast bowler Deep made an instant impact with the new ball on debut in the fourth Test, despite shouldering the burden of replacing world number one Jasprit Bumrah who was rested.

In his second over, Deep splattered Zak Crawley's stumps with a darting in-swinger, only for it to be called a no ball as he had overstepped.

Undaunted, the 27-year-old went on to rip through the England top order with Ben Duckett caught behind and Ollie Pope trapped lbw second ball.

The sweetest moment came when he smashed Crawley's stumps for a second time, but this time the delivery was legal and he dedicated his maiden wickets to his father who died in 2015.

- Tom Hartley -

Doubts surrounded England's inexperienced spin attack as the series began but left-armer Hartley marked his debut in Hyderabad with nine wickets in a match-winning display.

The 24-year-old took the key wickets of Shubman Gill and KL Rahul in India's first innings.

He then spun his team to victory with figures of 7-62, including four of the top five in India's batting order, as they folded for 202 in their second innings, chasing 231 to win.

Hartley's 20 wickets in four matches are more than any other bowler -- Bumrah has 17 -- and he has also contributed 159 useful runs down the order with a best of 36.

- Shoaib Bashir -

Bashir, who has Pakistani heritage, missed the first Test due to a visa delay but was then thrown straight in for his debut in the second despite having played only six first class matches.

The 20-year-old justified his selection in his fourth over when he induced India captain Rohit Sharma to flick to Pope at short leg for his maiden Test victim and went on to take four wickets in the match.

The 1.93 metre (6ft 4in) tall off-spinner sat out the next but used his height to exploit the variable bounce in Ranchi for his first five-wicket haul on his way to eight in the match.

"They'll be able to leave at the end of this tour with their heads held very high," said Stokes of Hartley and Bashir.

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In a joint statement, the two bodies said that the partnership marked "a significant shared commitment to enhancing global tennis".

Since 2021, PIF has invested heavily in a number of major sports industries including setting up the LIV golf tour, a rival to the PGA, and purchasing English Premier League club Newcastle United.

The statement did not give details of the amount of the investment which will see PIF become the official naming partner of the ATP rankings.

PIF will also partner with ATP Tour events in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing and the ATP Finals, in addition to the Next Gen ATP Finals, hosted in Jeddah until 2027.

"Our strategic partnership with PIF marks a major moment for tennis," said ATP chief executive Massimo Calvelli in the joint statement.

"It's a shared commitment to propel the future of the sport. With PIF’s dedication to the next generation – fostering innovation and creating opportunities for all – the stage is set for a transformative new period of progress.”

Last year, the kingdom hosted its first ATP Tour event -- the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah -- along with exhibition matches pitting Novak Djokovic against Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka against Ons Jabeur.

- Anger at WTA bid -

In January Rafael Nadal, winner of 22 singles Grand Slams on the men's side, was named ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation.

The latest investment with the ATP follows a Saudi bid to secure the WTA Finals in Riyadh, a move that drew criticism from former women's champions Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova while winning the support of current world No.6 Jabeur.

PIF has reshaped the world of golf by setting up the LIV golf tour as a rival to the PGA.

The first event took place in June 2022, causing a split within the sport that caused LIV-affiliated players to be excluded from the Ryder Cup, PGA tour events and consequently the world rankings.

Reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm joined the LIV tour in December in a deal reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

However, a framework deal between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF is now under discussion with a view to ending the stand-off.

It also owns four football clubs in the Saudi Pro League and has spent over $885 million (820 million euros) on some of the biggest names in football to play for its teams.

The kingdom is also set to host the 2034 football World Cup.

But Saudi Arabia has been accused by its critics of "sportswashing" by using sport to improve its international reputation after widespread criticism of its human rights and environmental record.

"Through our collaboration with ATP, PIF will be a catalyst for growth of the global tennis landscape, developing talent, fostering inclusivity and driving sustainable innovation," said PIF's Mohamed AlSayyad.

- Murray 'concerns' -

Former world number one Andy Murray highlighted the commitment from the new partners to "collaborate to elevate the long-term future of tennis".

After he was knocked out of the ATP Dubai tournament on Wednesday, he said: "I don't know exactly what it means by sponsoring the events. I don't know what that will look like.

"One of my concerns is obviously actually more about the investment in lower levels of the game and the grassroots of the sport. I think that's extremely important."

World number four Daniil Medvedev said investment can only be a boost for the sport.

"I think if we can make tennis bigger as a sport, more interesting for people, have more coverage, just in general more people will know tennis, who tennis players are," said the former US Open champion.

"I think it's going to be good."

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The team head into their 2024 campaign, which has been overshadowed by seven-time F1 champion Hamilton agreeing to join next year, trying to recover ground on all-conquering Red Bull.

And Ferrari unveiled the SF-24 to their legion of fans with a short and low-key video, adding in a statement that "a small audience of guests" were given a live viewing of the new car.

Among those present were Ferrari's Team Principal Frederic Vasseur and drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, who will race together for the last time this season.

Ferrari said that "the positive feeling the drivers had in the cockpit over the final few races of last season" was the starting point for the new car, with the aim being "a car that is easy to drive and that reacts predictably".

"This year, we must start off where we left off at the end of last season, when we were consistent front runners," said Vasseur.

"The longest ever F1 season awaits us and Charles, Carlos and I all agree, we must be more clinical and effective in how we manage the races."

The new 24-race campaign kicks off in Bahrain on March 2 with Ferrari not having won a drivers championship since 2007 and a constructors since 2008.

Ferrari finished miles behind Red Bull in both the championships in 2023, with Leclerc closing the season 369 points behind champion Max Verstappen in fifth and Sainz seventh.

"I like the look of the car a lot... But of course, what really interests me is how it will perform on track, as that's all that matters," said Leclerc.

"This season the aim is to be front runners all the time and I want to give our fans plenty to cheer about."

Briton Hamilton will partner Leclerc when he joins Ferrari -- replacing Sainz whose contract is up come the end of the season -- hoping to finally claim a record-breaking eighth F1 title.

The 39-year-old won the last of his world crowns in 2020 but lost the 2021 championship in controversial fashion to Verstappen when the race director ignored the safety car rules in Abu Dhabi, effectively blocking the Briton's route to victory in both that Grand Prix and the championship.

Dutchman Verstappen has dominated F1 since, romping to the last two championships in a powerful combination of great car and driver.

Hamilton finished third last season but he didn't win a single Grand Prix for the second year in a row and ended up 341 points behind Verstappen who won 19 of 22 races.

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Some 60 designers, ranging from rising talents to renowned brands like Burberry, will show their new designs over five days, hoping to draw the interest of buyers and fashion influencers.

Irish-American designer Paul Costelloe's show, titled "Once upon a Time" -- a reference to the iconic 1984 film "Once Upon a Time in America" -- showcased wide-belted coats in ecru, anthracite and checkered tweed.

Costelloe, 78, who is bedridden with a virus, was absent from the event.

- Gen Z favourite -

In another early show, Ukrainian Masha Popova, a "Gen Z" favourite, presented a collection inspired by early 2000s so-called Y2K era.

Performed against a backdrop of techno music and in front of a crowd of influencers, it featured models in low-waisted pants, washed out denim -- and heels topped with long gaiters.

Elsewhere, Turkish designer Bora Aksu delivered a gloomier mood, aimed at finding and celebrating "the purest beauty amidst the most vivid of horrors".

Slender models wearing bodices paired with wide sleeves, lace gowns, flowing skirts, blouses and masculine jackets paraded to slow-beating music, with cream, grey, black and dark blue the predominant colours.

The designer, who was inspired by the work of sculptor Eva Hesse who fled Nazi-Germany as a child in 1938, used tones of pink and blush to retain a light, feminine energy, while making use of old stock and rejected rolls for his garments.

On Friday night, British-Nigerian Tolu Coker was given rapturous applause after her show, which featured a runway made to resemble a traditionally African street, with yellow, blue and green umbrellas, stacks of tyres and a "Give Way" street sign.

Beige, brown and black and white were the prominent colours, with the models wearing coats, heels, boots and skirts.

The packed audience snapped photographs on their cellphones when one model walked the runway wearing a multi-coloured calabash head decoration.

Another model drew applause as she paraded wearing a green jacket and beige skirt.

At the end of the show the stern-faced models huddled on the catwalk before breaking into smiles and waving their hands, drawing cheers from the audience.

Coker waved and smiled as she followed the models down the runway.

- Tumultuous time -

Despite the audience's excitement, the showcase comes at a tumultuous time for Britain's fashion industry, amid post-Brexit trade barriers and the country's inflation-fuelled cost-of-living crisis.

The situation has prompted some nascent designers to question the viability of investing in British fashion events.

Rising star Dilara Findikoglu made headlines last September after she cancelled her show days before the event for financial reasons.

The industry, which employs close to 900,000 people in the UK and contributes £21 billion ($26 billion) to the British economy, is facing "incredibly challenging times," LFW's director Caroline Rush told AFP.

But what can be garnered from 40 years, she said, "is that in the most economically challenging times, you see the most incredible creativity".

"There's almost this visceral reaction to what's happening at home," Rush added.

"I'm hoping that the creativity that we see over the next few days will be incredibly uplifting, that it will talk about the role of culture and creativity in society."

The first edition of British Fashion Week was held in 1984 in a tent set up in the parking lot of the former Commonwealth Institute in West London.

Initially overlooked, the British capital earned its rebellious reputation thanks to legends like Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano, who put the city on the fashion map. Then there was the "Cool Britannia" era in the 1990s, a cultural euphoria period when Stella McCartney or Matthew Williamson dressed supermodels Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell.

Since then, London has lost some of its allure, with the departure of star designers and houses preferring Paris, such as Alexander McQueen or Victoria Beckham.

However, the BFC's NEWGEN sponsorship program, which supports young designers, has affirmed London's position as a talent incubator.

And while it remains less prestigious than Paris or Milan, London Fashion Week is celebrated for being freer, more radical, and less formulaic.

This anniversary edition also aims to highlight greater diversity and inclusivity, in terms of body shapes, ages, or skin colours of the models, as well as in the designers' collections, with identities or inspirations from the Caribbean, Iran, India, or Ethiopia.

The weekend will feature more familiar names like JW Anderson, Richard Quinn, Ahluwalia, and Simone Rocha, before Burberry's show scheduled for Monday evening.

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Mendelsohn, 54, has become one of Hollywood's favourite character actors since his Emmy-winning turn in Netflix drama "Bloodline" and appearances in blockbusters like "Rogue One" and "Ready Player One".

But it is his starring role as France's best-known designer in "The New Look", currently playing on Apple TV, that has been closest to his heart.

"The longer I was in those shoes, the more I loved him," said Mendelsohn.

He met AFP Tuesday at the Gallerie Dior in Paris, just after putting in an appearance at the label's latest fashion week show.

"The New Look" delves into Christian Dior's traumatic origins in Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II, as well as the story Gabriele "Coco" Chanel, played by Juliette Binoche.

"I do love him more than anyone I've ever played. In terms of a hero, he's sensitive, he's anxious, so full of doubt, full of self-loathing... but he still did so many impactful things."

Mendelsohn said he was attracted to the character's complex inner demons.

"He loathed himself because his public self was not close to his private self, and he couldn't reconcile the two," he said.

Mendelsohn sat with the show's costume designers for hours to immerse himself in their work.

"We shot it all here in Paris which was such a gift," he said. "There's something about this city and this culture."

The show is all in English, and Mendelsohn took on a French accent for the role: "An Australian accent for Christian Dior is not really gonna work!"

For all his immersion, he admitted he has "only scratched the surface" of what the industry is about.

"I come from a fairly typical Australian surburban male background, not exactly understanding a lot about fashion and how it interacts with the zeitgeist," he said.

"I wouldn't say I've become a fashionista since doing this show, but I'm certainly more appreciative of the role that fashion plays."

Looking dapper in a grey Dior suit, he added: "I've got to an age where I think I'm better off wearing suits rather than just jeans and a T-shirt!"

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For more snobbish Parisians, the "banlieues" -- including commuter towns like Villiers-sur-Marne -- conjure images of urban riots and drab tower blocks, not the obvious setting for a luxury fashion label.

But Traore, who grew up here as one of seven children to Malian immigrants -- his father a rubbish collector and his mother a cleaner -- is proud of his "made in the banlieue" couture.

He was back on the catwalk on Tuesday for his latest Paris Fashion Week show, another sophisticated collection of his trademark flowing drapes and pleats.

A few days earlier, he gave AFP a tour of the "beautiful chaos" of his atelier -- located on the second floor of a nondescript building in Villiers-sur-Marne, squeezed between a job centre and a youth club.

"I like to navigate between Paris and the suburbs," he said.

"The inspiration is just as strong when I'm here, in the heart of my neighbourhood as when I'm in Paris in the galleries and museums, or travelling abroad.

"I want to restore the image of the banlieues and all my brothers here. I love the cultural mix."

- Training academy -

Traore's dreams as a youngster were focused more on football than fashion, until a moment of revelation at 18 when he saw an exhibition of Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto's work.

After some tricky early years, he set up his own label in 2017. Three years later, he won the top prize of the National Association for the Development of the Fashion Arts, and joined the Paris Fashion Week line-up.

Traore wants other locals to follow in his footsteps, and has set up a training school alongside his workshop, which he dreams could one day be the fashion equivalent of Barcelona FC's fabled football training academy, la Masia.

"From the start, we took people who had never done any sewing, who had applied just like that. But I had a blast and decided to make it a real diploma course," he said.

There were immediate successes, with one of his first students winning an LVMH graduate prize, and others joining Chanel, Dior, Pierre Cardin and others.

Busying over an organza bustier, one of the current crop, 26-year-old Zouleha Mandzomana, is all praise for Traore.

"He really tries to push us to our limits and not stay in our little suburbs settling for whatever," said Mandzomana, who dreams of joining Chanel, one of the houses that supports the school.

As for Traore, he dreams of the opposite, of one day bringing the fashion world to him -- of seeing President Emmanuel Macron and Vogue supremo Anna Wintour on the front row of a show in his neighbourhood.

"With all these debates in France about immigration and blah blah blah... I want to show that there's also a positive side to immigration, that the banlieue can be a laboratory for talent and creativity."

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Blinken had also visited Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Cape Verde on a week-long trip meant to demonstrate a sustained US interest in the continent, as China and Russia gain influence and the Israel-Hamas war consumes Washington's attention.

Once a Marxist state battling US-backed rebels in the Cold War, Angola has transitioned into an oil-rich democracy and works increasingly closely with the United States.

In the capital Luanda, Blinken reviewed what he called faster-than-expected work on the Lobito Corridor, the most ambitious US infrastructure project on a continent where China has gone on a building blitz in its search for resources.

"This project has genuinely transformative potential for this nation, for this region and, I would argue, for the world," Blinken said.

The corridor aims to connect landlocked Zambia, which has been held up by Washington as a model of democracy, as well as the resource-rich but underdeveloped Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to Angola's Atlantic port of Lobito.

The United States has committed to fund 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) of rail and is working with partners including multinational lenders to expand the project eventually to Tanzania, connecting the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

The route will transport resources critical to the global economy including copper and cobalt, a vital component of smartphones.

Blinken also toured a gleaming new science museum where he promoted another US initiative that will bring resilient seeds, including potentially genetically modified ones, to developing countries.

Standing in front of a table of yams and cassava, Blinken -- who two days earlier visited a rice project in Ivory Coast -- said that traditional African seeds are "incredibly nutritious, and they can now be made even more resistant to the ravages of climate change".

"Then we get to the point where Africa is feeding itself and, indeed, probably feeding other parts of the world," he said.

- Nudge on democracy -

President Joe Biden has vowed to  prioritise Africa but failed to live up to a promise to visit last year.

Blinken told reporters that Biden still wanted to come, but acknowledged the tight schedule with US elections later this year.

Contact with African leaders remains robust. Blinken held an extended meeting in Luanda with Angolan President Joao Lourenco, who met Biden at the White House just two months ago.

In contrast with China's approach, Blinken gently raised internal politics in Angola, saying he discussed the importance of holding local-level elections, which remain absent in Angola and for which the opposition has pressed.

He also called for a greater opening to independent media and welcomed the opening of a second journalism school in Angola as "an important and positive trajectory".

Many Africans have voiced unease about the West devoting billions of dollars in weapons to Ukraine to defend against Russian invasion, fearing that development is being taken off the agenda.

Angola has historic relations with Moscow but Foreign Minister Tete Antonio on a visit last year by Russia's foreign minister also told him of concerns about a global escalation of conflict.

"There is an old adage that the best friend is the one who tells the truth," Antonio said alongside Blinken.

- 'Essential' Angola peace role -

Angola, no stranger to conflict, has taken a leading role alongside Kenya in seeking an end to unrest in the east of vast DRC.

Blinken said he spoke to Lourenco about "concrete" measures on DRC, calling Angola's role "essential" and saying the president was "trusted by all sides".

Talks in Luanda in late 2022 resulted in an agreement for a retreat in the DRC by M23, ethnic Tutsi rebels that Kinshasa says are backed by Rwanda.

But the insurgents have since taken more territory.

Blinken credited US-led efforts, including intelligence sharing, with ensuring calm in the long-turbulent DRC for December elections.

"Now that the election is done, we believe that it's an important moment to try to forge forward with diplomacy," Blinken said.

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Part of the team that lost to Lionel Messi and Argentina at the 2018 World Cup, Troost-Ekong is currently taking part in his third Africa Cup of Nations and he kept a remarkably cool head to score the decisive penalty in the 1-0 win over hosts Ivory Coast on Thursday.

That result left the three-time continental champions primed to clinch a spot in the last 16 when they play Guinea-Bissau in their last group game in Abidjan on Monday.

"It is so early still, but my belief in the team has stayed the same," the 30-year-old centre-back, who won his first cap in 2015, told AFP.

"If I look at the players we have now, I think it might be the best team I have played in for Nigeria. That is with all due respect to some of the legends that have been there."

Amid all the talk of Nigeria's fearsome attack, spearheaded by African footballer of the year Victor Osimhen, it was Nigeria's defence that perhaps surprisingly stood out against the Ivorians, with Troost-Ekong marshalling a five-man back line.

"I think we have the most exciting attack in Africa. We have the best player in Africa who is our number nine. But I was not surprised, I think I know what the defenders can do as well and I believe so much in this group," he said.

"I think we have maybe been underrated a little bit defensively."

Troost-Ekong, who is wearing boots at the AFCON made from bamboo and other sustainable materials, was born just outside Amsterdam to a Nigerian father and Dutch mother, and was capped at youth level by the Netherlands.

- 'Haven't looked back' -

He admits he dreamed of representing the Oranje senior team before a call from Stephen Keshi, then the Super Eagles coach, convinced him to pull on a Nigerian shirt.

"I watched a lot of football with my Dad. He was always watching the Super Eagles, but growing up in Holland, I also dreamt about playing for the Dutch national team," said the defender, who moved to the UK aged 12 to attend boarding school.

"But when I got the phone call from Stephen Keshi at the time, who was a player and a legend who I watched growing up as a kid, especially as a central defender, I was kind of taken aback, and for him to ask me to play for Nigeria, I didn't have to think twice.

"I think I said yes before I even had to think about anything or ask anyone because it just felt right, and I haven't looked back since.

"Something really feels right about playing for Nigeria."

Troost-Ekong, who has family in the southern city of Uyo as well as in Lagos, spent several months on holiday in Nigeria every year while growing up and says the country "felt very much like home and still does".

He has turned out for clubs all over Europe, notably playing in Serie A for Udinese and in the English Premier League for Watford.

However, he recently joined leading Greek side PAOK -– and opted to offset the carbon from the travel required to complete his transfer in another nod to the environment.

As he settles in Thessaloniki, he is now hoping this year to add some winners medals to the Olympic bronze he won with Nigeria in 2016.

"I have played in Serie A and in England, which are considered probably the top leagues, but for teams that are trying to stay in the league or to survive," said the player who is so heavily tattooed he claims to have lost count of how many he has.

"Now playing at PAOK it is different because the ambition there is to win the league, win the cup, and win the Europa Conference League.

"I am really enjoying it and I am hopeful that I can add some silverware to my career, here as well as back home."

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Here are some of the highlights from four days of shows in the French capital.

- Balletcore -

Ballet is hot right now.

Andie MacDowell's daughter, actress Margaret Qualley, in a neck ruff and white tights, was the catwalk star as Chanel marked 100 years since founder Gabrielle Chanel first dressed the Russian Ballet in Paris.

It came just a few days after Dior paid homage to ballet icon Rudolf Nureyev during the menswear week, and Chanel offered the ultra-chi-chi women's version, with lots of tutu skirts, translucent whites, leotards and dance pumps.

- Fendi, Dior fabrics -

Fendi's show, graced by Zendaya and Reese Witherspoon, in the front row, was one of the more delicately fabulous.

Shimmering, almost liquid, dresses in silk, sequin and mohair. Glasses that you wouldn't want to accidentally sit on, since they are made from 18-carat gold and white diamonds.

Designer Kim Jones said he was inspired by his predecessor Karl Lagerfeld's "futurism" but with "a humanism at the heart of this future".

Christian Dior, meanwhile, put on a varied show with everything from brown trenchcoats to white Grecian-goddess-style dresses and velvet pantsuits.

But there was an impressive tribute to a classic from the Dior archive, the La Cigale dress of 1952, and the unique rippling effect of its moire fabric.

- Eastern journeys -

France's Stephane Rolland recreated the atmosphere of a Marrakesh garden, with women dressed like Middle Eastern princesses in beige, gold and blue, set against a background of desert dunes and a soundtrack by trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf.

Rolland told AFP he was thinking about the collection before the Israel-Hamas war broke out in October and had decided to stick with it in order to promote "tolerance and positivity".

Giorgio Armani plucked ideas from all over the world to take an audience including Gwyneth Paltrow and Glenn Close on an "imagined journey from West to East" that included decorative peacock motifs and kimono-style gowns.

Rahul Mishra latest evocation of his native India was inspired by insects, with huge glittering moths and bees adorning some outfits, and several turbans and maharajah outfits in the collection.

- Theatrical Fournie -

One of the most spectacular shows came from Julien Fournie, who sought to recreate the atmosphere of fashion's heyday, packing out a Paris theatre for a tribute to vamps and femmes fatales.

Cocked bowler hats and beige trench coats recalled film noir classics and cabaret, alongside dizzying stiletto heels that tested the balance of the models as they put on much more of a show than the usual up-and-back catwalk strut.

Model Michaela Tomanova, seven months pregnant, stood out in a black gala dress made from a harness, while Fournie paid tribute to landmark styles over the past century, from suits to pencil skirts and big shoulders, all with modern twists.

"With this collection I wanted to return the joy, fantasy and lightness that we miss so much today," said Fournie, who joined the models on stage for an ecstatic finale in their arms.

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