Couture Fashion Week

Forget Christmas, it’s definitely Couture Fashion Week that is the most wonderful time of the year! The ready-to-wear shows are always joys to view but there’s just something about the whimsy of couture, the painstaking detail, the reverence for craft that elevates this frothy fantasy so magically. This season the schedule had a few extra additions as well as some highly anticipated ones. Both Viktor & Rolf & Jean Paul Gaultier have suspended their pret lines to concentrate their creative energies on Couture with divine consequences whilst Fendi presented its very first Haute Forrure show in honour of Karl Lagerfeld’s 50th year as Creative Director of the house and Schiaparelli presented the first collection under the guidance of new Creative Director Bertrand Guyon. So basically there was a whole lot of gorgeousness to keep up with this season! Here are my most loved looks from each spectacular show.

Valentino

Valentino embodies the very definition of romance when it comes to couture. This season pair homage to the houses beloved Rome, staged on a spectacular runway erected by the Spanish Steps. It was beautiful as always but with a raw underlying sexuality.

valentino

Chanel

Karl Lagerfeld can always be counted on for an awe inspiring set and this season he erected a casino, where beautiful front rowers such as Kirsten Stewart and Julianne Moore took centre stage to play roulette as the models spilt out around them. There were exquisite Chanel suits but reimagined in 3D for the 21st century as well as some red carpet worthy dresses.

Chanel

Christian Dior

Raf Simons has a talent for being retrospective and forward thinking in one fell swoop and this season gave us a touch of the Flemish masters offset against a Perspex palace. There were diaphanous white gown, gorgeous New Look era full skirts and an interesting play on sleeves with his cape/coat hybrids.

Christian Dior

Schiaparelli

Bertand Guyon may not be a household name but he is a seasoned hand in the world of couture with tenure at Valentino, Givenchy and Christian Lacroix. His first collection for the house displayed his penchant for tailoring peppered with fresh, flirty gowns and of course the requisite dash of ‘shocking pink’.

Schiaparelli

Viktor & Rolf

In what was undoubtedly the most different and quirky show of the week, Viktor & Rolf took to task the age-old question of whether fashion should be considered art. There was extreme construction and the design duo played into the theme of the show by removing each outfit after its run and hanging it against a pristine white wall.

viktor & rolf

Jean Paul Gaultier

The enfant terrible of Parisian fashion has always had a way with subversive couture and it’s evident that shifting his focus away from RTW has given a new lease to his brilliance. There was beautiful embroidery and an opulent use of feathers for one spectacular trench but of course marinière stripes abounded keeping the whole thing fresh and irreverent.

Jean Paul Gaultier

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