Gifts are often left on front row seats at fashion shows for guests. Rarely, however, are they placed on every seat. And they are never black hooded plastic rain ponchos, with the name of a designer across the back.

Such was the case at Rick Owens on Thursday evening. For his eerie, water-soaked show at the Palais du Tokyo, overlooking the banks of the Seine, models dressed in strange silhouettes that resembled alien cocoons and took a trip through fountain mists. The seated audience, bedecked in their ponchos, looked like they were taking a different kind of ride: a high fashion log flume, perhaps, as they were showered from on high.

Five days later, inside the Grand Palais, the elements emerged again, this time at Chanel. Karl Lagerfeld had commissioned a giant replica of the Verdon Gorge in the south of France, which took two months to construct and had six waterfalls, all rushing into a gully below the catwalk. The aquatic theme then continued with the collection, a playful 89-look procession of vinyl rain gear. But even imported Mother Nature can have her unpredictable way; half a dozen hats were blown off models’ heads by the sheer force of the cascades. Nevertheless, waterproofing has rarely looked so chic. — ELIZABETH PATON, European correspondent, Styles