Haute Couture Week is back in full force and we’re loving every minute of it. Unlike its Ready-to-Wear sister, Haute Couture forces us to sit with the questions of fashion’s ever-evolving relationship with art, culture, technology, and spirit. This season was no different, as designers pulled from the cosmos, the natural, and the eerie for their experimentations. Here are the highlights in case you missed them.
Schiaparelli
We have always had a fascination with the human body, but in recent years, that fascination has developed into a collective obsession. Digital priming and AI replications only push that desire further. And in this digital rendering, there is Daniel Roseberry, a man who began his Schiaparelli debut by sketching live on stage while models walked the runway.
With his latest collection ‘The Call of the Void’, Roseberry doesn’t push like he did back then, but rather leaned in with his own panache. With the likes of Bad Bunny, Emma Corrin, and Michelle Yeoh among others, seated at the front row, Roseberry “jumped into the void”, so to speak, and channelled the unconventional brought on by Elsa Schiaparelli herself, delving into contemporary surrealism with runway experimentation.
The traditional silks and wools were kept aside for gummy latex and silicone, where haute couture techniques were applied. A nod to our current microscopic body fascination, the Schiaparelli jacket contoured; a hyper-realistic bustier was sculpted before being cast into silicone; and a dress pulsed with light right by the torso. Juxtaposing this was nature: flowers and fish scales manipulated to establish an eerie beauty. A skirt was created from dried flowers and stretched on metal wires and pearls, while another jacket was encrusted with them. The ‘Secret’ bag appeared with embroidered flowers while jewellery included gilded shell earrings, pieces shaped like writhing octopus tentacles, and a silicone choker and cuff made to resemble sea anemones.
Exploring on the new age of bodies, nature, and material art, Roseberry pushed the needle by embracing the winds of change and in turn awed the room the way no digital embodiment can.
Iris van Herpen
While van Herpen has always been interested in the natural world, for her Haute Couture AW27 collection she turned to the cosmos instead. Titled ‘Sonic Starquakes’, Herpen takes a look at plasma—the matter that ties together the universe—and lighting alongside the body’s natural magnetic field.
The first of her kind to introduce such a material into haute couture, the collection came with pieces lightly glowing as a case of plasma reacting to the electromagnetism of the human body. Beyond the lighting, the looks came with familiar faces—the bubble dress we first saw on Eileen Gu at the Met Gala came in a reimagined fashion in a sheer bubble gown complemented with a matching bubble headpiece. While a secondary bubble gown came with columns of plasma sculpted to a shoulder.
With the designer’s most notable work on display at the Brooklyn Museum, ‘Sonic Starquakes’ comes as the latest addition to van Herpen’s exploration of science, craft, and couture.
Georges Hobeika
“There is nothing more extraordinary, and yet faster to forget, than our privilege to be here.”
The opening sentiment of Georges Hobeika’s show notes both mirrors the designer duo’s exploration of beauty while also revealing a softer sentiment behind. A Lebanese house, the duo have been vocal about how their work is both resistance and a respite from the horrors that Lebanon currently faces.
Taking inspiration from James McCrae’s poem ‘Instructions Before Visiting Earth’, as well as channelling their own sentiment to pursue beauty in spite of adversity, the collection transitions from a neutral to a vibrant palette, while displaying a sense of lightness. Architectural silhouettes continue on with the house’s signature codes while the Hobeikas bring forth light as a concept with iridescent beads that glimmer in the light.
Fabrics like silk, lace, and organza also make appearances showcase the collection’s spirit of beauty in grace. Continuing with McCrae’s poem, tiny slivers of nature appear in the most whimsical ways. Metallic beetles and snails crawl through the garments while orchids are a recurring motif, coming to full bloom on the Hobeika bride.
Christian Dior
With all eyes on Anderson as he introduced his sophomore collection, Dior continues where they left off in the natural world. In collaboration with American sculptor Lynda Benglis, who collaborated with Dior on the bags featured in the show, Anderson added the natural element alongside Benglis’ work, which is known for experimentation through knotting, pleating or moulding.
As such, her art was translated into a pleated Bar jacket and knotted gowns. Materials commonly used in her work, like fans and porcelain, also appeared as key motifs across dresses.
Aside from taking her collection literally, Anderson also found himself with Benglis’ relationship with Ahmedabad, India and how the place informs the artist. This exploration came to the Indian craft of chintz, which was then incorporated into accessories, specifically a series of clutches. This isn’t a first for the house to work with Indian craftsmanship, however Anderson explains in his show notes how the juxtaposition of environment brings a new line of intrigue in the lab-as-couture experimentation.
Rahul Mishra
God is a woman, or so Mishra’s collection conveys. Titled ‘Devi’, Mishra takes inspiration from carvings from ancient Hindu temples, stone sculptures, and goddess imagery from Hindu mythology. To the designer, it was the “most India-inspired collection I’ve ever done”, where fabric was treated with heavy embroidery to give off the look of stone, copper, and bronze.
Working with jewellery designer Tanishq, Mishra brought the sculptural forms to life, as headpieces and trims gleam. From the depiction of multiple goddess heads, as commonly seen in Hindu imagery, the collection then dives into a celebration of the feminine form. Contouring shapes accentuated by cuts and shears emphasise both the strength and softness of a woman.
Pulling together the ancient to celebrate the modern woman, Mishra continues to stun with otherworldly spirituality.
Chanel
With a set of beanstalks and giant flowers giving off the impression of stepping into Alice’s Wonderland, Blazy’s second couture show under Chanel came as a dreamy fashion fantasy. On the front row sat familiar faces—Alexa Demie, Tilda Swinton, Pedro Pascal, Sarah Pidgeon, Lupita Nyong’o, and Imane Khelif, among others—as the show opened with the signature tweed weave in a trompe l’œi sheer vest and skirt.
Taking inspiration from a well-loved copy of Les Fées: Contes des Contes, AKA a collection of fairy tales by Charles Perrault, found in Gabrielle Chanel’s personal library, Blazy continues the dialogue he sparked with the founder since beginning his tenure. Pondering on the kind of stories a young Chanel dreamed of, the collection takes from those very same stories and familiarity, and is given the couture treatment from Chanel’s ateliers.
A mix of whimsy among the ordinary, suits came dropped-waisted, dresses came embroidered with 3D flowers appearing to grow on a vine, and a raffia-textured jacket and hat came prepared to look like straw. Flou techniques that the house is famed for appeared once again, showing how the garment flows with the woman wear it and continuing the dreamlike vision.
This was a collection rich in details. Between insect-shaped buttons, jackets with illustrations, and embroidered “to-do” lists, each look came toeing the line between a world we live in and a world to dream in. The shoes proved this point even further with their practical construction and decorative heels. While some erred on the cutesy side as vine leaves and butterflies, other heels came shaped as golden eggs, chickens, and a pod of peas with a string of pearls functioning as the peas.
In the flora and fauna language that Blazy has been writing with, his latest explores how the modern woman can embrace her inner child and look good while doing it.
Giorgio Armani Privé
For her second collection after taking over her legendary uncle, Silvana Armani roots her work into pants and mystique. Titled ‘Boudoir’, the set was as intimate as the collection it aimed to represent.
Colour was the major factor here, as was her previous collection ‘Jade’. Although dark, it wasn’t pitch black. Instead, Armani opted for navies and warm browns in the beginning before shifting into splashes of oxblood red and midnight blue. The clothes themselves didn’t speak to a grandiose idea but stuck with Armani’s philosophy of great tailoring. Toning down the intensity, we instead got precise tailoring among jackets, embellished evening wear, and of course, the pants. Satins and velvets grounded each look with a loose-yet-fitted silhouette. The jackets paired with each bottom ranged from a cropped purple to an elongated piece that fell to the thighs.
Evening wear came by with a sculptural feel as geometric shapes took over. Most stayed grounded to their velvety fabrics while others made use of feathers, reptile print, and feathers that caught the light. It was clear that Silvana Armani aimed to continue to push for what made Armani great—a softer approach towards clothes and above all, a well-tailored suit.
Balenciaga
There have been all eyes on Balenciaga ever since Pierpaolo Piccioli took over. Curious on how the designer will act on the design language set by his predecessor Demna, we can see it now clearly in his debut couture collection. Going straight to the founder, the collection was a celebration of beauty and dressing the contemporary woman the way Cristóbal Balenciaga would.
With Anok Yai opening in a voluminous pant and orange-red feathered jacket, the tone of volume and movement was set in place. Cocooning shapes, reminiscent of Balenciaga’s most loved work, took shape in the form of pleats, feathers, floral appliqués, and crystal embellishment. They were pieces made to dramatically run in, as they fluttered down the catwalk.
The collection came with familiar nods as well. Colour-blocked gloves, a favourite from the designer, appeared as a styling motif again. A model dressed in a single earring and asymmetrical tailoring also made appearances. Whereas footwear for the collection came in a similar treatment of feathered details to emphasise the collection’s desire for movement.
And unlike his predecessor, Piccioli has been painting Balenciaga in the most vibrant hues! Known as the designer to introduce Valentino Pink, the latest collection came with a similar shade alongside reds, blues, royal purples, and neon shades, among the classic neutrals. For an Autumn-Winter collection, it was refreshingly bright and cheery. And featuring plenty of modest necklines and hems, it’s a collection worth sporting by modest dressers.
