Another Fashion Week, this time dedicated to Haute Couture for Fall-Winter 2023/24, has just closed its doors in Paris, and as usual brevity and intensity were directly proportional: the Couture Week shows in fact ran from July 3 to 6, for four particularly intense days of presentations and shows in traditional format. All this, in an atmosphere that was not particularly festive in the Ville Lumière, given the protests that have been inflaming the city for days and that have raised the question-not at all trivial-about the possible cancellation of the shows.
Hedi Slimane, for example, took to social media publicly to announce his decision not to present his Haute Couture collection for Celine, despite great regret given the enormous work behind the scenes by designers, tailors, and others. The scheduling of the other shows, however, remained largely unchanged, with a desire to bring some joy and escapism through the creativity that only haute couture is capable of bringing to the stage.
From Schiaparelli‘s unfailing surrealism to Valentino‘s scenic show at the Château de Chantilly, here are the 12 most memorable moments of this Paris fashion week, including iconic references and surprising appearances on the runway.
Viktor & Rolf
Viktor & Rolf – Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren celebrated their 30-year career in the most “mini” of formats: leotards. In fact, all the codes of the fashion house were encapsulated by the garment that, after underwear, uses as few inches of fabric as possible. How? Through applications of ruffles, flowers, bows, XXL letters forming short slogans and the latest must conceived by the duo: the double look with invisible mannequin walking alongside the main outfit.
Balenciaga
Balenciaga – Balenciaga’s 52nd haute couture collection, as well as the third conceived by Demna Gvasalia, looks like an opera with dystopian traits: from the soundtrack that echoed during the runway show at 10 avenue George V – that is, an unprecedented reworking of Maria Callas’ works by artist BFRND with the help of Artificial Intelligence – to the ultra-architectural outfits. Supporting the sculptural elements of the looks is the 3D printing technique, among which emerges the most applauded dress of the collection: an armor with a wide pleated skirt made of galvanized and chrome-polished resin.
Fendi | PETER WHITE/GETTY IMAGES
Fendi – The most influential muses in Kim Jones’ collections are none other than the Fendi sisters: for the Fall-Winter 2023/24 Haute Couture collection, specifically, the designer was inspired by Delfina Delettrez Fendi and her latest high jewelry collection, dubbed Trittico Fendi. The 30 precious pieces come to life in sartorial form amid earthy tones and bright hues with scattered sparkles, intricate embroidery, and ultra-light nude dresses with integrated jeweled necklines. Although austerity is dominant, the sophisticated allure is not penalized but rather, supported, by this very simple elegance. The whole thing was summed up masterfully by Kim Jones himself, “My kind of couture is very much about reality, how the woman who wears it feels when she goes to an event…something pretty, elegant and easy to wear.”
Valentino | PASCAL LE SEGRETAIN/GETTY IMAGES
Valentino – One of the most anticipated shows of Paris Couture Week was held at the Château de Chantilly, amid fairy-tale locations, haute couture, and a star-studded audience. Surrounded by the geometric gardens designed by André Le Nôtre, the models walked scenically down the wide outdoor stairs and in front of a giant equestrian statue, wearing a very diverse range of what can be considered luxury: Kaia Gerber, for example, sported a jeans and white shirt ensemble, while others appeared in ultra-refined, brightly colored long dresses. A way, on Pierpaolo Piccioli‘s part, of stripping a historic venue of its “exclusively” elitist connotations.
Charles de Vilmorin
Charles de Vilmorin – For his first “solo” collection since leaving the artistic direction of Rochas, the French designer wanted, quite literally, to take flight: a concept of creative freedom developed veiledly in tailoring, with cap sleeves that hung like wings, and overtly in surrealist iconography, with swans to be worn above the head.
Jean Paul Gaultier | VICTOR VIRGILE/GETTY IMAGES
Jean Paul Gaultier by Julien Dossena – The 1990s is probably the decade that has most inspired the last few fashion seasons, but Rabanne’s creative director, at the creative reins for Jean Paul Gaultier‘s couture show, has taken this historical period to a new and unconventional level. In fact, Julien Dossena drew from the enfant terrible’s archive, combining his most iconic patterns, textures and silhouettes with the metallic element now inescapable at Rabanne. Lace and lingerie also seasoned the haute couture collection with some spicy touches, as seen in the look of the iconic Laetitia Casta on the runway.
Yuima Nakazato | GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/GETTY IMAGES
Yuima Nakazato – The Japanese designer’s Haute Couture collection tells, in a poetic and spectacular way, the basic principle of the universe: the cycle of creation and destruction. And it does so in a room hung with the works of Katsushika Hokusai that show Mount Fuji painted volcanic red, not with snow-capped peaks, to echo the power and memory of fire. This element, in its magma form, is captured in the dresses on the runway amidst long kimonos and intricate draping, made from recycled fabrics and printed by Seiko Epson.
Giorgio Armani Privé | MARC PIASECKI
Giorgio Armani Privé – King Giorgio made this latest Haute Couture show an ode to the rose, describing it as “a carnal, seductive, mysterious flower”: although initially references to the flower were veiled by recalling it in shiny fabrics and beaded and crystal decorations, its depiction became, look after look, increasingly explicit. Both at the sartorial level, with roses decorating tops and sleeves, and through a dominant red that left little room for imagination, the final crowning glory of which was the bridal gown at the close of the show.
Stéphane Rolland | KRISTY SPAROW/GETTY IMAGES
Stéphane Rolland – For the Fall/Winter 2023 Haute Couture collection, the French designer chose the Opéra de Paris as the setting for a – memorable – fashion show inspired by the iconic Maria Callas: the 31 looks on the runway evoke the style and artistry of Rolland’s muse in a series of architectural and ethereal silhouettes in which black and white take center stage. Right down to the red of dresses inspired by specific works, such as Medea, and touches of opulent gold in the scenic sculptural accessories.
Chanel | THIERRY CHESNOT/GETTY IMAGES
Chanel – With the Seine and Eiffel Tower as a backdrop, Chanel catapulted us straight back to the 1970s: although Virginie Viard rarely deviates from the maison’s more classic and timeless codes, this time the boho influence took over, delineating a parisienne to which we still aspire-in style-from all over the world. Not surprisingly, the fashion show was opened by Caroline de Maigret, then followed by models wearing tweed garments, yes, but interspersed with colorful floral patterns and mix-and-match garments of different patterns and colors.
Schiaparelli Haute Couture
Schiaparelli – “People don’t come here for something that looks real. It’s about fantasy, it’s about escapism, and as much as possible and as close as possible, it’s really fine art, in my mind,” said Daniel Roseberry during a preview, and his latest Haute Couture collection for Schiaparelli is worthy of that statement. Drawing on two main themes, the corset-inspired by the bottle of the fashion house’s Shocking fragrance, and artists-from Salvador Dalí to Jean Cocteau, the designer created a new surrealist show in which both classic hourglass silhouettes and half-sartorial, half “on leather” dresses made an appearance, with a model painted Klein blue. But among the most applauded garments were monstrous coats, such as the jacket with voluminous fronds of ivory goat hair dubbed Fuzzy Wuzzy, worn in a black version by Cardi B in the front row.
Christian Dior
Christian Dior – Quiet luxury, for Maria Grazia Chiuri, in Dior’s latest Haute Couture show is a matter of “apparent simplicity” that understated elegance that can be seen by wearing dresses that slip on like a glove. With a look to the goddesses of antiquity in aesthetics – evoked by Marta Roberti’s set and the embroidery of the Chanayaka workshop in Mumbai – and of contemporary comfort in the sartorial choices, the collection brings every shade of white to the runway: purity and elegance at their highest level, without any ostentation but with a theatrical ensemble effect, almost as if one had witnessed a ritual.