Prête-à-Porter Spring/Summer 2011 fashion week opened up in Paris yesterday with a slow saunter.

Among the afternoon and evening défilés there were some interesting things to see from Spanish designer Amaya Arzuaga and Portuguese Designer best known for her most-expensive-bathing-suit-in-the-world (year 2000), Fatima Lopes.

Arzuaga explored the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly with geometrical cuts and very textured fabrics that are formed into not-so-prête-à-porter shapes and forms. Set in the Galerie de Minéralogie in the Jardin des Plantes, guests arrived through the rose garden just outside the entrance. Colors were sharp whites, blacks with some reds rose-petal pinks and caterpillar greens here and there. Even more impractical than the garments was the footwear; models were perched precariously on impossible to walk in platform heels that probably weighed more than the models themselves, and some were forced to strut like ostriches rather than fluttering butterflies down the runway. Nonetheless textures and shapes were fascinating and had a very tactile appeal to them.

Fatima Lopes put on a show in the Maison des Métallos in the 11th arrondissement. In a large basement style theater space she had a back-drop of stretched fabrics lit from behind, and incorporated an entire choreography to her show, which is a welcome change from the long runway walk from one end to another.

Her theme was the undulations of sand and dunes, and the clothing was made of light and airy fabrics in pastels. Each piece was wearable. Shoes were intricate gnarled heels with a pale ballerina peach color and were textured as if made from wet sand after a sprinkle of rain has fallen on it. The hair designs echoed the gnarled heels of the shoes.