It was Couture Fashion Week in Paris and while it's not something most of us will ever get to experience - either the event or the fashion - it's generally at least anthropologically interesting to have a gawk at what was paraded.
The New York Times reported that the stand-outs were Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, Raf Simons for Dior and relative newcomer Iris van Herpen (it was actually her fourth showing at Couture Fashion Week. But in an event where the 'show' can be as important as the fashion, Valentino, Armani and Versace were not unnoticed either.
Features of the collection included:
- the silk, pearls and ornateness of Valentino
- the almost-nude beige-ness of Armani
- delicate chiffon, embroideries, feathers and sequins from Chanel (main picture)
- the precitability of the almost-nothing-there of Versace
- a nod to multiculturalism from Dior, and
- what might be kindly referred to as the 'inventiveness' of van Herpen, especially with her plastic moulded range.
Here's a taste of what was on offer. The question is: even if you had the money to afford haute couture, and if you could actually fit into the model sizes, would you ever wear it?
Valentino
Armani
Versace - in case you couldn't guess
Dior
van Herpen