This week began with civil unrest raging across France forcing some some high end labels to cancel shows and events, Nonetheless, Paris fashion’s Couture Week has been hailed as one of the best yet.
Euronews Culture is here to give you the rundown of some of the best looks from across the four days of one of the most anticipated events in all of fashion.
Dior presented its latest collection in the garden of the Musée Rodin, focusing on a Greek goddess theme, incorporating gold, cream and beige tones into tunics and capes.
At Iris Van Herpen’s show – whose pieces feature in Beyonce’s Renaissance tour – geometric shapes were at the forefront, with the fashion house taking inspiration from Oceanix, the floating city being planned for South Korea. Iridescent chiffon and structural, floaty designs took centre stage, offering an otherworldly look to the presentation.
Thom Browne celebrated his eponymous label’s 20th anniversary, paying tribute to the now iconic grey suit – the first garment Browne ever created and sold in 2003. Held at the Palais Garnier, the brand’s first debut couture show featured 2,000 seated cardboard cutouts, all ‘wearing’ the suit. Featuring chiefly grey colour themes throughout, the designs worn by real life models were inspired by mainstays of railway stations – like gargoyles, pigeons and bells.
Celebrating 30 years in the business, Viktor & Rolf has yet to temper its tongue-in-cheek, surrealist take on fashion. For couture week, they decided to shy away from their typical oversized designs, instead focussing on a line of bathing suits.
The Dutch designers didn’t allow the lack of fabric to stymie their creativity though, with the swimsuits featuring ruffles, bows and 3D catchphrases including ‘I WISH YOU WELL’ – a nod to Gwyneth Paltrow? We think so.
Taking over part of the iconic Ritz in Paris, TASAKI presented its latest high jewellery collection, paying tribute to what it calls the mesmerising beauty found in the natural world.
Founded in 1954, TASAKI has a long tradition in the high end jewellery world and remains as Japan’s leading luxury jeweller and the world’s principal producer of Akoya pearls.
At Chanel, creative director Virginie Viard presented a show of two halves.
Models walking down the runway, with the Eiffel tower as a backdrop, wore archetypal Chanel tweed coats and black and grey jackets, while others were dressed in clashing floral and lace motifs and blouses and dresses which look like they’d been lifted straight out of the 1970s.
While Valentino’s show wasn’t held in Paris itself but, instead, at the 19th-century Château de Chantilly, some 50km away, it was a veritable highlight of Couture Week.
Headed up by reigning designer of the year Pierpaolo Piccioli, the collection presented bold colours – golds, rich blues and fuschia shades – with floral shapes and emblems throughout, often paired with enormous statement earrings.
Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli’s collection did pay heed to the riots, in a way. It was supposed to have been the second part of a trilogy of shows inspired by the Divine Comedy. Part 1 had taken place in January and was based on ‘The Inferno’ and part 2 was renamed from ‘Purgatorio’ to ‘… And the Artists’ to avoid any negative connotations in light of current events.
Despite the change, Rosberry presented a collection featuring silk and draped cloudlike designs as well as paying tribute to the late Elsa Schiaparelli’s penchant for artists, including Lucian Freud, Yves Klein and Jack Whitten. On show were elegant swirling collars added to coats, mirrored mosaic suits and wooden accessories.
