Haute Couture in Paris

I have always been fascinated with haute couture, ever since I started reading about couturiers like Worth or Poiret. Even today, some designers can easily break away from the usual cash-and-carry idea and find themselves totally blown away from reality, making the most expensive and delirious creations.

Schiaparelli

My first date in haute couture week was chez Schiaparelli. I absolutely adore this couture house. I think it’s interesting to read about people who were close to artists and at the same time had some trouble with Coco Chanel. People who know me know I love Chanel, so no harm is done (I hope).

Schiaparelli was a big name in the 1930s, and the brand has tried to come back these last few years, not always succesfully alas. Now Bertrand Guyon is in charge, and I must say I loved what he proposed. His collection was called: ‘A Gala dinner… or the pleasures of tasting’. Of course Gala was a reference to Gala Dali, whose recipees were always a true source of inspiration for her husband’s surrealistic compositions. I saw fruits, vegetables, lobsters even… there was lightness and even transparancy, there was plissé soleil, there were jewels….This was a very modern and fresh attitude to haute couture.

Dior

Of course I looked forward to what the new design team at Dior had in store for an audience that for the last seasons was entralled with what former creative director Raf Simons had imagined for the brand. I must say I had high hopes, but I didn’t like what I saw. To be honest: I was disappointed with the cut,  the choice of fabrics, and the overall attitude that models exuded. I didn’t quite fathom the elegance… but then again, maybe this is just a moment in time. A moment to reconsider. Of course there were highlights. I liked the shoes. I liked some details, especially those linked to Monsieur Dior’s superstitious tempers.

I didn’t know what to do with the idea of this new Dior woman, feeling free, a Parisienne who is couture by nature, down tot he smallest details. The very iconic ‘Bar’ jacket was interesting, but I liked the Raf Simons’ one much better.

We all know that during the Simons’ age at Dior, sales of the haute couture department were raised by 17 percent. A hell of a job, Raf did…

Chanel

What about Chanel? In fact, it’s the only show where invités arrive half hour before the time slot, because they know there will be something amazing to see, to photograph, to talk about… This time, for Karl Lagerfeld, the silhouette was the starting point  : that was quite clear from the starting point.

The focus was on short tweed jackets combined with long pencil skirts. But in fact the silhouette was not what it was all about. Much more interesting were the materials: their delicateness, lots of pleats, a couple of rhinestones, some feathers, and of course: embroideries…There was a lot of beige, which of course was the favourite colour of Coco Chanel.

Gaultier

Always the dancer and the man to link music and fashion, Jean Paul Gaultier went back to the memory he had of Le Palace, a great place to dance and hang out in the Eighties, in Paris. The show boasted personae: from Prince and Bowie, to Grace Jones and Amanda Lear, who sat in the audience (and sang along wholeheartedly with her own songs on the setlist).

I must say: I had fun, and so did my colleagues. We watched fashion icons from the past. Lots of blingbling. Lots of typical Gaultier stuff. But hey, this was couture! Yet, there was irony, there was a vibrant sexy attitude, there was happy music, there was androgyny, all things Gaultier. There especially was lots of elegance. And true glamour.

Armani Privé

Wow, what to say. It was all about mauve. Just this one colour that some call lilac. Was it Old Hollywood Armani referred to? Or a certain scent? A certain shade? I have an extreme respect for the artist in Armani. The designer who gave woman the loose jacket (long time ago). The man who believed in the power of woman, through their wardrobe. But there's something awkward in the way Armani shows his collections today. I'm very sorry to say, but I always feel as if I'm looking at the same show. Same (skinny) models, same clothes, same kind of music... Guess I need to reconsider. 

Viktor & Rolf

I was mesmerized. I loved what I saw. It all started with a white shirt, and ended up a cubist sculpture. Where was the woman? She's still there, said the design duo backstage, but they knew better. So happy for this duo that they can do whatever they feel like, not having to sell prêt-à-porter. Their haute couture collection is a laboratory of ideas. of new ways of seeing fashion. Luckily they have Flowerbomb... the bestseller perfume that pays it all.

Hope you like what you see...