Balletcore, dunes and vamps at Paris couture week

Dior haute couture show SS24, Credit: Launchmetrics
Haute couture week in Paris showcases the
fashion world’s most elite outfits — one-off, made-to-measure creations that
the labels hope will adorn red carpets and high society events around the
world.
Here are some of the highlights from four days of shows in the French
capital.

Balletcore

Ballet is hot right now.
Andie MacDowell’s daughter, actress Margaret Qualley, in a neck ruff and
white tights, was the catwalk star as Chanel marked 100 years since founder
Gabrielle Chanel first dressed the Russian Ballet in Paris.
It came just a few days after Dior paid homage to ballet icon Rudolf
Nureyev during the menswear week, and Chanel offered the ultra-chi-chi women’s
version, with lots of tutu skirts, translucent whites, leotards and dance
pumps.

Eastern journeys

France’s Stephane Rolland recreated the atmosphere of a Marrakesh garden,
with women dressed like Middle Eastern princesses in beige, gold and blue, set
against a background of desert dunes and a soundtrack by trumpeter Ibrahim
Maalouf.

Rolland told AFP he was thinking about the collection before the
Israel-Hamas war broke out in October and had decided to stick with it in
order to promote “tolerance and positivity”.

Giorgio Armani plucked ideas from all over the world to take an audience
including Gwyneth Paltrow and Glenn Close on an “imagined journey from West to
East” that included decorative peacock motifs and kimono-style gowns.
Rahul Mishra, meanwhile, has been dazzling couture audiences with lustrous
and idiosyncratic visions of his native India for several years.
This time, he was inspired by insects, with huge glittering moths and bees
adorning some outfits, and several turbans and maharajah outfits in the
collection.

Theatrical Fournie

One of the most spectacular shows came from Julien Fournie, who sought to
recreate the atmosphere of fashion’s heyday, packing out a Paris theatre for a
tribute to vamps and femmes fatales.
Cocked bowler hats and beige trench coats recalled film noir classics and
cabaret, alongside dizzying stiletto heels that tested the balance of the
models as they put on much more of a show than the usual up-and-back catwalk
strut.

Model Michaela Tomanova, seven months pregnant, stood out in a black gala
dress made from a harness, while Fournie paid tribute to landmark styles over
the past century, from suits to pencil skirts and big shoulders, all with
modern twists.

“With this collection I wanted to return the joy, fantasy and lightness
that we miss so much today,” said Fournie, who joined the models on stage for
an ecstatic finale in their arms.

Dior couture

Christian Dior’s show created an other-worldly atmosphere.
It was set in the Rodin Museum among the imagery of artist Isabella Ducrot
and the soundtrack to current hit film “Poor Things”, and had celebs including
Rihanna and Juliette Binoche in the front row.
The collection paid tribute to a classic from the Dior archive, the La
Cigale dress of 1952 and the unique rippling effect of its moire fabric,
although it was a varied show that included everything from brown trenchcoats
to white Grecian-goddess-style dresses and velvet pantsuits.(AFP)