The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Paris

Paris designers sought a balance between showmanship and substance in their ready-to-wear displays on Saturday, as the fashion industry seeks new revenue sources to make up for the millions in Wall Street bonuses that have gone up in smoke.

With Western economies mired in a financial crisis, all eyes are turning to Brazil, Russia, India and China - the so-called BRIC economies, with an expanding middle class that is developing an appetite for luxury. To capture these markets, brands must first spend thousands of dollars on high-profile catwalk shows that will generate acres of press coverage. "Companies are hedging their bets by making certain that their sales are going up in the new markets," said Hilary Alexander, fashion editor of Britain's Daily Telegraph. "The Russian clients, the Indian clients, the Middle Eastern clients - they want glamour, they want pizzazz."

French luxury brand Hermes pulled out the stops, opening its Far West-themed show with a rare catwalk appearance by 1990s supermodels Naomi Campbell and Stephanie Seymour - but these cowgirls were like nothing you've seen in Texas.