THE models were all confidence and poise as they sashayed down the Paris catwalks last night for the first of this season’s haute couture shows. But nobody could disguise the sense of gloom hanging over the French art form which appears to be dying on its feet. In the past 15 years, the number of haute couture shows has fallen dramatically. In 1987, 24 haute couture houses presented their collections. This year only nine remain to parade their collections - Christian Dior, Chanel, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Christian Lacroix, Jean-Louis Scherrer, Dominique Sirop, Torrente, Hanae Mori and the Italian designer Valentino. In...