Hunter Schafer's mouth drops as a model walks, clad in a balaclava and a dress made with pearly petals and inlaid with microsequins. Beside her, Jennifer López smiles with approval and on the other, Zendaya avoids blinking so as not to miss any detail of this hand-embroidered work of art. Beyond excellence in raw materials and artisanal techniques, haute couture fashion can be explained through this same scene, starring the three famous women last Monday, at the Schiaparelli fashion show. An aura of mystery, which leaves you speechless and takes your breath away. A clothing dream come true but so exclusive that only a few mortals – very famous and only on loan – can touch or show off. Seeing it from afar, however, is possible twice a year, during the renowned Paris Haute Couture Week.
The Fashion Week Haute Couture in the French capital closed an electrifying edition this Thursday, with expected returns and surprising debuts and the presence of international stars such as the singers Rita Ora and Rihanna, the actress Natalie Portman or the model and composer Carla Bruni.
The catwalk opened with the artisanal magic of the aforementioned Schiaparelli house. A dialogue, in the words of its creative director, Daniel Roseberry, "between the past and the future" where noble materials embroider pieces of exaggerated volumes to blur the female figure. Turned into a goddess of surreal morphology, she highlighted a model carrying a sparkling robot child, inspired by AI but built from artifacts that referenced pre-Iphone technology. In short, fashion to reflect on where we come from but above all where we are going.
Schiaparelli was followed by the delicacy of Dior. The review of 'La Cigale', an archival dress from the 1950s, serves as an excuse to highlight Maria Grazia Chiuri's sincere efforts to give value to artisanal clothing. On this occasion, the French house collaborated to make the embroidery with the Chanakya School of Crafts (India) and the set was created by the Italian artist Isabella Ducrot.
Hours later, Juana Martín from Córdoba put a Spanish accent on this French catwalk and consolidated her position with an exultant tribute to Andalusia. The light and the amazing landscapes of Seville and its surroundings permeate this line named Rosée, which has palm braiding as its primary fabric.
After the romanticism of Giambatista Valli, the actress Margaret Qualley closed a Chanel show on Tuesday focused on the lightness of tulle and Giorgio Armani Privé put the icing on the cake to the day with a proposal in which he explores the sensuality of transparencies and gives free rein to fluorine color in haute couture, which has always been bathed in pale and soft palettes.
The big attraction on Wednesday was the Irish Simone Rocha and her reinterpretation of the Jean Paul Gaultier brand and its history, although Elie Saab also had something to talk about, magical as always with her jewel dresses and three-dimensional floral embroidery, and Valentino, who For the next season, bring back the fairy-tale dresses with puffed skirts, feathers and majestic capes.
In total, 29 brands that since Monday have slowly weaved an intense journey through the art of high-end tailoring in the recently released 2024. A journey that came to an end this Thursday with the long-awaited return of Maison Margiela. The French brand has put the finishing touch to the days with the lazy walks of the models, like zombies wandering through a world inspired by Victorian London. John Galiano has thus defended his, and the firm's, title of non-conformist rebel.
