Karl Lagerfeld sent a volcanic chill of autumn swirling through the Grand Palais on Tuesday as he presented a tomboyish Chanel fall-winter collection.

In a deliberate contrast from the Parisian garden theme that framed the spring-summer show, Lagerfeld sent darker, looser looks down a wooden boardwalk the length of a venue carpeted with volcanic dust that crunched underfoot.

The soundtrack – “A Forest” by The Cure, about a man who goes looking for a woman in, well, a forest – set the tone, even if there wasn’t a tree in sight.

Lady Gaga hit Mugler‘s runway on March 2, while premiering her new track, “Government Hooker.”

A live broadcast showed backstage preparations before following Gaga onto the stage where she walked among fashion models, dramatically demonstrating the flowy fabrics of Nicola Formichetti’s creations for the fashion house.

What came down the runway was not as alienesque or ‘anatomic’ as expected — apart from the fully tattooed Rick Genest’s appearance and the occasional sculpted pointy ears of course.

“It is understood that Dior intends to go ahead with its runway show on Friday [March 4],” Women’s Wear Daily reports.

Christian Dior released a statement on March 1 saying it had fired John Galliano with immediate effect in the wake of his arrest over anti-semitic remarks last week.

French fashion label Givenchy showed its haute couture collection exclusively on Asian models, demonstrating to what extent Asia has moved to fashion’s forefront.

Inspired by Japanese Butoh dancer Kazuo Ohn, the lightweight dresses featured clear Asian style elements such as structural shapes, warrior-inspired headgear by Philip Treacy, and folding techniques.

Declared “works of art” by the likes of fashion journalist Suzy Menkes, the dresses took an accumulated 6,000 hours to create.

Miuccia Prada has already won plaudits for her spring/summer 2011 collection — simply-cut dresses and suits in a quirky mix of stripes and solids, with bold splashes of orange, violet and electric blue.

But by displaying the clothes on a runway in Beijing on Saturday evening, her first catwalk show outside Europe, and adding a few looks from her spring menswear line, the Italian designer signalled her focus on China’s huge market.

Actresses Gong Li and Maggie Cheung added a bit of high-wattage star power to the show at the Central Academy of Fine Arts museum — a surefire way to maximise local media coverage and get the Prada message to the masses.

Lady Gaga has announced her plans to debut new music from her upcoming Born This Way today at a Paris fashion show by Thierry Mugler.

“I’m the musical director for the MUGLER fashion show,” she said on Twitter. “I’m remixing/previewing a record on Born This Way, tailored for the show + garments.”

She did not detail which song she would preview. According to a post on her website, fans will be able to listen to the new song on Mugler’s official website beginning on Thursday, January 20, at 6 p.m. Central European Time (9 a.m. PST).