Haute Couture Week SS24 report: everything you missed in Paris

Haute Couture Week spring-summer 2024 started with a bang – sorry, bangs, like Zendaya and her new bangs sparked a paparazzi frenzy outside Schiaparelli in the French capital. It was a day of hair transformations, with J Lo cutting off her shiny glamazon locks for her own moment in the front row at Daniel Roseberry, and Rihanna giving a lesson in high-cap styling at Dior.

There was also a lot of striking beauty on the runways. Simone Rocha’s guest collection for Jean Paul Gaultier dominated social media, thanks to the Irish designer’s highly photogenic shots from the provocateur’s archive: all Breton T-shirts made entirely of ribbons, Madonna-style conical bras with thorns in homage to the roses that Gaultier gifted the models backstage. and transparent saddlebags exquisitely crafted using Irish crochet that sparkles with silver stones. “Haute couture is historical and romantic, so it was about introducing modernity, reality, an almost scientific approach to this project, to promote it today,” said Rocha about anchoring the “untouchable” craft in the current moment.

Rebooting couture for a new audience was also on Roseberry’s mind as he reflected on artificial intelligence versus craftsmanship at Schiaparelli. the most literal example of her technological reflections? the baby robot created from old motherboards and mirrors, nestled on the hip of Maggie Maurer, who memorably walked the London catwalk while pregnant in 2022.

Armani Privé was proof that exceptional pieces pay off, literally. She dreamed up her billowing, feathery, pastel-colored tulle dresses with crystal bodices and fabulous peacock feather hats specifically with her elite clients in mind, after falling in love with the term “Haute Couture en Jeu,” which loosely translates like “haute couture is having fun.” ”. “It was time to be brave, take risks and probably be a little less Armani,” she said. Fashion Clue.

Pierpaolo Piccioli and his ornate Valentino disco ball capes, soaring ink-black “nude” dresses and fairy-tale turquoise skirts also leaned into the playfulness at the heart of haute couture. “You don’t need to feel the weight of technique and handmade because ultimately couture is about the illusion of effortlessness.” piccioli said of his approach. “the technique must disappear so as not to lose the magic: a magician remains a magician only until he reveals his secrets.”

There was also lightness in Virginie Viard’s ballet-inspired Chanel collection. She had sugared almond bouclé skirt suits and sparkling dresses appropriate for a wedding. loyal cohort craning his neck and tapping his feet to Kendrick Lamar’s soundscape, which the rapper created for the show. accompanying film the button, written and directed by Dave Free. When it came to big-budget productions, Viard won with his beautiful simplicity.

Maria Grazia Chiuri also focused on portability within the trade, with a striking Dior collection of plain cotton and moiré (a fabric generally used in interior design) pieces inspired, in part, by Christian Dior’s 1952 La Cigale dress and its streamlined couture, in which Monsieur Dior compared saddlebags to the wings of an airplane. the key difference in Chiuri’s collection that propels the house into spring-summer 2024? the removal of any “padding” to allow women to move freely. Expect to see Rihanna, who was sitting in the front row, doing moiré.

For anyone tuning in to their biannual dose of limitless whimsy, futuristic Fendi, whimsical Giambattista Valli and punky Viktor & Rolf happily indulge in awards season-worthy looks worthy of the leading ladies of 2024. the collection we want to see from Emma Stone et al. exhausting? Alaïa’s amazingly sexy edit of open dresses that were miraculously woven from a single thread. A truly epic exclamation point on the calendar.