Twice a year, Paris couture maisons present their latest collections of haute couture artistry. This week of fashion showcases the best and most elaborate designs of the world’s leading fashion houses. After taking in all the beauty of the collections, we chose these as our favorite highlights from Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week 2018.
Schiaparelli
The main inspiration is Elsa Schiaparelli herself. I was initially drawn to her personal photos — especially her portraits. I focused on her character, her personality.
Bertrand Guyon created this collection for Schiaparelli based on the life and personality of the maison’s founder, Elsa Schiaparelli Held in the elegant Opéra Garnier, models walked the runways in intricate and bold fashions, many styled with elaborate masks and headgear.
Iris van Herpen
In this collection Iris van Herpen explores the new worlds that arise within synthetic biology and the intertwining relationships between the organic and the inorganic. ʻSyntopiaʼ acknowledges the current scientific shift in which biology converges with technology and visualizes the fragility and power within.
For her show entitled ‘Syntopia’, Iris van Herpen said she was inspired by the intricate echoing work of the artists Studio Drift. “Their spatial kinetic installation ‘In 20 steps’ is constructed of 20 delicate glass wings that represent all the different steps of flying in an abstract way. The vivacious glass bird flows in symbiosis with the models while they move over the runway, their delicate interaction emphasizes the fragility of new worlds living and soaring together.”
Elie Saab
Models walked a runway in the Musée des Arts Decoratifs dressed in the newest couture gowns from Elie Saab. The maison’s reliably feminine gowns incorporated small touches of menswear: a tuxedo collar here, a blazer there.
Viktor & Rolf
An ode to 25 years, Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2018 is a collection of memories, an immaculate renewal of the vows which represent Viktor&Rolf’s longstanding union to fashion. The approach, a typical Viktor&Rolf antithesis speaks to the designer’s personal fascination with time: consciously cherishing the past, yet always looking forward and pushing the boundaries of transformation.
Maison founders Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren celebrated their revisited 25 years together as designer revisiting 25 of their most iconic looks. The Viktor & Rolf pieces were all-reworked in an all-white color story, which really allowed the silhouettes to shine.
Jean Paul Gaultier
Smoking no smoking? The new Fall-Winter 2018-18 collection from Gaultier Paris breaks the rules by rejecting the symbolic masculine-feminine suit, advocating for freedom of expression in all its forms – including “free the nipple”…
Jean Paul Gaultier’s couture show played with the concept of the tuxedo. Models walked the catwalk in garments featuring the fashion staple deconstructed in a wide variety of ways.
Zuhair Murad
Imperial Russia – or rather, a dream-like depiction – is at the heart of Zuhair Murad’s Couture 2018-19 collection.
Inspired by Russian royalty, Zuhair Murad‘s collection dripped in sumptuous fabrics and elaborate beadwork. The collection’s bridal look was positively queenly — complete with an ornate crown!
Valentino
Time is an intimate matter. It is the boundless breath of the imagination and the diligent rhythm of creation, the encounter between who imagines and who creates, bringing visions, from Kairós, that revolve around oneself, to Kronós made concrete by reality. It is the imagined that becomes substantial: the fantasy of real Haute Couture, pictured in a daydream, brought to life through emotions.
The Paris haute couture week finished with a bang as Valentino presented the final runway show. The collection overflowed with brocades, sequins, and embroidery — all expertly crafted. Cindy Crawford’s daughter Kaia Gerber wore the standout piece of the collection. The ethereal feathered pink floor-length gown seemed to float down the runway.
Very few fashion houses have the privilege of wearing the title of haute couture. The process to become and remain couture is grueling. Learn more about haute couture in Paris to more fully appreciate these amazing collections!
