Highlights from Couture Fashion Week in Paris: two predictions, an iron man and Renata Litvinova

Every year, the representatives of the fashion industry hold their breath and wait for the second month of summer. Indeed, at the beginning of July, as if by the hour in Paris, Couture Fashion Week begins – a real symbiosis of new design solutions and, above all, beauty that you will want to look at without stopping. And this year, the event met all expectations again, not just again. However, this is a lie. Extremely right.

towards the future

Fashion Week kicked off on the 3rd of July with a show by Schiaparelli, the same House that didn’t take the title of lead actor of the event for nothing. This time Daniel Roseberry decided to work with bindings and even ethnic motifs. And, of course, it hasn’t forgotten the brand’s DNA – timeless elegance, not without unimportant design touches. Therefore, the main styling technique of the show was a trendy headband in great harmony with large earrings. By the way, Russian influencer Ksenia Shipilova, invited as a guest on the show, immediately supported the idea on the shore. And yes – as if you guessed the main decorative touch of the future show.

With the Iris Van Herpen show, everything was very clear in the beginning. In a good way: the fashion maestro has always been famous for his work with forms and dynamics seen in action, thanks to the wonders of 3D printing. Then Thom Browne took over with his first couture fashion show. And the first one: the eternal artistic motifs of the designer and the ideal combination of haute couture is truly surprising. Tom Brown turned the show into a kind of 45-minute performance – cardboard audiences watched the ornate gray models from the audience, and the models themselves participated in the actual production.

iron Man

And of course without the Balenciaga show. Despite the scandal at the end of last year, there still wasn’t an empty guest chair in House’s Paris atelier – it’s not in vain that a bizarre word developed in the fashion industry that Demna Gvasalia was the best in haute couture. And the brand’s show was remembered not only thanks to the perfectly tailored suit with deliberate geometricity.

First, 79-year-old Daniel Slavik, who once managed to work as a full-time model with Cristobal Balenciaga, joined the show. She appeared at one of the brand’s fashion shows in 1965 in a black velvet dress with pearls, and later admitted to Demna that it was her favorite look of her entire career. And so the designer decided not only to give Daniel an exact copy of the laconic outfit, but also to release the model on the catwalk. By the way, Grace Kelly bought the dress for a while.

Secondly, the final chord of the show was the appearance of a model in knightly armor. Or rather, there seems to be a new trend (and another prediction) in an 80kg chrome resin dress that was 3D printed and created over 10 months. Finally, thirdly. Renata Litvinova, one of the designer’s main muses, attended the couture fashion show last year. Also, when creating the image of the actress, Demna was inspired by the outfit of Marilyn Monroe in the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953).

Flashback

On behalf of Jean Paul Gaultier, Julien Dossena, guest creative director of Paco Rabanne, also stood out for his excellent work on archives. From House’s first couture collection in 1997, which took 1.5 weeks to create, to a dress, tribute to the pinnacle of a tie from 2002, the designer has deftly read the French brand’s fashion codes in his signature style.

Another interesting reference was a floor-length black dress with red roses on the neckline – I remember Ruby Rhode appeared in a similar outfit in Chris Tucker’s The Fifth Element (1997). And that’s right – the costumes for the movie were once designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier. However, it is impossible to mention one more important detail – the Jean Paul Gaultier show was opened by Natalia Vodianova, whose catwalk appearances today are rare, but on point.

There is only one thing to be said about Victor & Rolf: Victor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren are in their repertoire. Another hilarious take on the familiar, whether it’s ‘multi-layered’ swimsuits or double ‘trailers’ suits. They did not disappoint at Valentino either. Pierpaolo Piccioli presented a truly bright and even wearable collection – flowing fabrics and floral elements are mandatory in all variations.

I particularly liked Kaia Gerber’s look with a deep-necked shirt, large chandelier earrings, shiny jeans and ballet shoes with voluminous bows. A new look at evening dresses, there is no other way. Again, an illusion of deception: In fact, the model’s trousers were not made of denim, but of silk embroidered with many mother-of-pearl beads. Moreover, the material has been dyed in up to 80 shades of indigo – everything to reflect the “effect” of jeans as much as possible.