UPDATE 1-Gaultier and Valentino appeal to crisis spirit

* Couture shows end on sombre note as crisis bites

* Gaultier defiant with wartime glamour

* New Valentino designers go for black

(Updates with Valentino, Franck Sorbier)

By Astrid Wendlandtand Mathilde Gardin

PARIS, July 8 (Reuters) - Wartime movie-star suits at Jean-Paul Gaultier and delicate black dresses at Valentino wrapped up the season's haute couture shows in Paris on Wednesday.

Several couturiers staged pared-down catwalk shows or even scrapped them altogether, opting for simple presentations, as even the highest echelons of fashion felt the global economic downturn.

Amid the gloom, Gaultier sounded a defiant note.