Paris Haute Couture Week news and archive

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...

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Pierre Cardin kicks-off its comeback with return to Paris fashion week

Luxury label Pierre Cardin is set to return to Paris Fashion Week in a bid to breathe new life into the brand, its new boss told AFP, just over a year after the death of its legendary founder. The famed couturier died in December 2020 at the age of 98, having built a hugely profitable business empire by licensing his name around the world. He...

Fairs

Haute Couture Fashion Week to hold physical shows in July

The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode has confirmed that the next edition of Haute Couture week in July will feature physical shows and presentations. In a short statement, French fashion’s organising body, said: “Depending on the evolution of the sanitary situation, the physical events may welcome guests in accordance with a specific...

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Kim Jones unveils Fendi Haute Couture debut

British fashion designer Kim Jones, who was appointed artistic director of Fendi in September 2020, has unveiled his debut haute couture collection for the Italian fashion house. Drawing from seemingly diverse inspirations, from the visual language of Bernini's marbles to Virginia Woolf's time-travelling, gender-blurring novel ‘Orlando’, the...

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Alber Elbaz returns to fashion with AZ Factory

Alber Elbaz marked his return to fashion with his start-up AZ Factory with a personality-filled digital presentation during Paris Haute Couture Week. Offering what he calls a “digital entertainment take on luxury,” Elbaz used his presentation to share not only his fashion creations but also the ethos of the company, “smart fashion that cares”. “...

Fashion

Iris van Herpen inspired by fungi for haute couture collection

Iris van Herpen showcased her latest collection ‘Roots of Rebirth’ during Paris Haute Couture Week, with 21 looks inspired by roots and spores. The collection explores the symbiosis of high technology with artisanal craftsmanship of couture, referencing the “intricacy of fungi and the entanglement of life that breathes beneath our feet,” said...

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Chanel looks to wedding parties for spring haute couture

For spring/summer 2021 haute couture, Chanel’s Virginie Viard was inspired by wedding parties and the spirit of family. Explaining her vision for the collection, Chanel’s creative director Viard said in the show notes: "I knew we couldn't organise a big show, that we would have to invent something else, so I came up with the idea of a small...

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Christian Dior explores tarot cards for haute couture SS21

Catwalk shows with audiences might be off-limits this Haute Couture season, but that doesn’t mean fashion houses aren’t going big. Christian Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri showcased her spring/summer 2021 collection with a tarot card inspired 15-minute film shot at a Tuscan castle by Italian director Matteo Garrone. Taking inspiration from the tarot...

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Haute Couture Week kicks off digitally in Paris

While Covid-19 has forced Haute Couture Week to host digitally for its spring/summer 2021 couture season, the official schedule confirms that 28 houses are set to participate. Haute Couture Week takes place from today, January 25 until January 28 and will feature Chanel, Dior, Giambattista Valli, Giorgio Armani Privé, Iris Van Herpen, Valentino,...

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The importance of storytelling in presenting digital collections

“The era is coming when we will need storytelling. More than ever, ”wrote novelist and fashion editor Sophie Fontanel on the Nouvel Obs website on June 16. This opinion, many brands and creative directors share it, is in any case what their posts on social networks and their presentations within Virtual Fashion Weeks show where everything...

Fashion

First Indian and black African enter fashion's elite club

Rahul Mishra and Imane Ayissi will make history Thursday by becoming the first Indian and black African designers to show their clothes on the elite Paris haute couture catwalk. Only a little more than a dozen of the world's most prestigious luxury labels -- including Dior, Chanel and Givenchy -- have a right to call their clothes haute couture....

Fashion

Ayissi to be first sub-Saharan designer to show at Paris haute couture week

His father was undefeated boxing champion of Africa, now Imane Ayissi is making history himself by becoming the first sub-Saharan designer to show in the elite Paris haute couture week. Not only is he joining fashion's creme de la creme, the Cameroonian couturier is shaking up the stereotype of what "African materials" are by refusing to use wax...