Haute Couture Week Report

HAUTE ATTITUDE

Discover all the highlights from the Paris Haute Couture autumn/winter 2018 shows, from Valentino Greek Mythology inspiration, to Alexandre Vauthier’s “Femme Fatale” and more.

MAISON VALENTINO ‘FLAMBOYANT, BOLD AND SCULPTURAL’ This season, Pierpaolo Piccioli’s vision involves a mashup of Greek mythology, with 17th and 18th-century paintings. The collection looked magnificent, especially within the intense details, such as; capes that are appliquéd, elegant embroidery, and quilted features. With an evening dress composed of multiple brocades, rhinestones, sequins, pearls, and vivid textural embroideries that is described by Piccioli as “Renaissance meets Versailles meets 60s”.

ALBERTA FERRETTI LIMITED EDITION ‘CLASSIC CHIC, DÉGRADÉ COLOURS AND SLEEK SILK FRINGING’ Alberta Ferretti’s Limited Edition caters to an international clientele looking for occasion dressing and well-executed, high-end clothes with handcrafted details and exclusive fabrications. The concept came to life with an abundance of silk fringes, which were the collection’s leitmotif; they outlined long scarves peeking out from tuxedo jackets or were appliquéd on black chiffon trousers paired with a matching silk T-shirt. The collection rippled in warm dégradé colours within a series of evening tunics mixed with crystals.

ALEXANDRE VAUTHIER ‘FEMME FATALE, CABARET VIBES AND SERIOUS ATTITUDE’ Alexandre Vauthier’s AW18/19 Haute Couture showcase, was staged within a private clubtype setting, which the models strutted through wearing thickly belted tailleurs, slinky crystal-studded dresses, and pheasant-feathered frocks- matched with a super-sleek and seriously cool attitude. Think 80s femme fatale via Victor Victoria cabaret- the looks were polished and poised, however, the only soundtrack was the latest Kanye West/Kid Cudi drop, which added to the notion of the mood and designs.

CHANEL ‘SEASONAL COLOURS, UNDERSTATED GLAMOUR AND TIMELESS STYLE’ “Haute Couture is Paris”. Very attached to the capital city, Karl Lagerfeld pays tribute to Autumnal Paris. Which inspires the season’s colour palette: the pale grey of zinc rooftops, anthracite of street asphalt, black and a deep nocturnal navy, gold and silver reflections of the Moon in the rippling Seine. In this sublimated Paris, crystal embroideries aligned like cobblestones, tulles netted and embroidered with gold recalling the padlocks on the Pont des Arts.

GIAMBATTISTA VALLI ‘EXTRAVAGANT, FRIVOLOUS AND FLIRTATIOUS’ Giambattista Valli is a man who knows a thing or two about excess- after all, some of his gowns require 400 yards of fabric- so it came as a surprise that the opening look of his AW18/19 couture collection consisted of nothing more than a black bow-tie bandeau top and high-waisted trousers. There is a very strong sense of youth within his Haute Couture. Why? “Because we have a lot of new generations of young girls coming and buying Haute Couture from all over the world, so that’s very nice and it’s very inspiring, and they have a different attitude to wearing it,” states the designer. ELIE SAAB ‘RICH GEM TONES, GAUDÍ INSPIRED AND UNAPOLOGETICALLY FEMININE’ This season, Elie Saab sought design inspiration from the luminescent, whimsically irregular, and rigorously aspirational masterworks of Gaudí. This added a chic verticality to the embroideries, whether on a halter-neck ball gown or on an ornate, matador-esque tuxedo jacket. Whereas the evening dresses, mostly in rich gem tones, in emerald, amethyst, garnet, but also in a greyand-white Gaudí-like shadow print, for which sculptural ruffles take the place of any other form of ornamentation. The best of these are in silk chiffon- which are flattering, fluttery, and unapologetically feminine.