Paris (France) (AFP) – Glowing minidresses, fairy tale-inspired designers, and clammy celebrities battling another summer heatwave all featured during the just-completed Paris Haute Couture Week. AFP selects some of the most memorable moments:
– **Dresses that glow** – Dutch designer Iris van Herpen unveiled one of the most eye-catching creations of the week, a luminescent mini-dress that looked like it incorporated beautiful glowing green cabbage leaves. There were no vegetables involved; the dress instead had been “charged inside a particle accelerator,” which transformed it into a “metastable reservoir of energy,” with the patterns caused by discharges of electricity. Though the physics to explain her creation was beyond the comprehension of most of the audience, there was no doubting its beauty — or van Herpen’s willingness to continue her experimentation with new technology and innovative materials. Schiaparelli also showcased several glowing outfits, including a silicone-moulded corset paired with a shimmering fringed skirt lit from within.
– **Fairy tales** – Several designers went back to childhood for inspiration. At Chanel, Franco-Belgian designer Matthieu Blazy peppered his show with visual references to fairy tales such as “Jack and the Beanstalk” or “Goldilocks,” with embroidered climbing plants or coats that looked like straw. Rising star Robert Wun also included references to Cinderella and the Big Bad Wolf in his collection that was a spooky Tim Burton-style imagining of childhood rendered in bright primary colours.
– **Reversible** – “Why should a garment remain static? How can it be made more alive? What if every creation contained its own metamorphosis?” French designer Alexis Mabille continues to challenge fashion’s conventions, and his “Dual” collection made every item reversible. Beneath the concrete vaults of a parish hall on the outskirts of Paris, heavy coats and black velvet column dresses were transformed in the blink of an eye into gold or silver outfits, leaving the audience astonished.
– **Indian presence** – The official Haute Couture Week calendar featured another new Indian designer, with Manish Malhotra becoming the fourth couturier to join the calendar. Malhotra paid tribute to his recently deceased mother in an intensely personal show, while compatriot Rahul Mishra caught the eye with dresses inspired by the famed Ajanta Caves, a complex of Buddhist rock-cut caves in the western state of Maharashtra. “I think it was long overdue,” Malhotra told AFP when asked about the Indian presence. “India is so culturally rich in terms of texture and textile, architecture, jewels, embroidery.”
– **War** – The war in the Middle East sparked by US and Israeli attacks on Iran in February has sparked chaos for designers in the region and dampened sales for the entire industry worldwide. Having lived through Iranian missile and drone barrages in his home city Dubai, Syrian designer Rami Al Ali had the conflict on his mind, using the sense of solidarity and desire for peace caused by the fighting as inspiration. “We’re waiting over the summer because it’s another quiet season,” he told AFP. “We’ll see in September and October, but we’re very hopeful that it’s going to go back to semi-normal.”
– **Men do couture** – Haute couture shows are always packed with celebrities, and this season was no exception. The number of high-profile male stars stood out, reflecting the blurring of gender lines in the fashion industry more broadly and the growing interest among men in wearing couture-style outfits. Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny attended the Schiaparelli show wearing a pastel yellow suit, while Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal was spotted at Chanel and British actor Josh O’Connor went to Dior.
© 2024 AFP
