Since many years we keep on asking the same question about the future of Hight Fashion doubting of it more and more.
But shall the fashion survive if we loose the fashion dream’s factory, the laboratory where everything is born and ends?
Couture is transforming, nevertheless, hopefully, it will never disappear.
This transformation we have been assisting the last week at the shows of spring/summer 2022 in Paris.
Under the grey skies of French capital which seemed to mourn with the industry the lost of its two legends left at the eve of it: designer Manfred Thierry Mugler and journalist André Leon Talley.
Under the actual circumstances, when events are cancelled every time and new coronavirus variant emerges, couture clients might be looking to invest more in “casual” garments.
Thus, the era of Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel and John Galliano at Dior has gone. It gives way to a kind of inversion with a ready-to-wear: once the kingdom of fantasy and flashes, haute couture is getting back to exclusive tailoring. The one it used to be before ready-to-wear came to force thanks to the efforts of genius businessman Pierre Cardin.
The tribute to Monsieur Cardin who also left us a year ago, paid at the last day of haute couture week in the cosmic show organized by his empire’s hier in Air and Space museum in the Aéroport de Paris-Le Bourget.
But let’s come back to the new haute couture. Virginie Viard at Chanel and Maria Grazia Chiuri at Dior – girls powers in historically boys Maisons – make high fashion look more day-to-day, down to earth than ever.
Designers are focusing on constructed clothes rather then impress the audience and Instagram followers.
If you are still craving flashes, meters of transparent fabrics and sequins, you may find all these elements of traditional red carpet dresses in the collections of Lebanese designers.
Who, however, are also adjusting to a new metaverse reality which claims a variety of silhouettes and shapes.
Quite oddly, Pierpaolo Piccioli at Valentino seems to be in minority of those who invite models of all shapes, ethnicities and ages to walk at haute couture show. But well, Paris is always a bit behind the USA in terms of social consciousness and cultural currents.
And then comes Schiaparelli where Daniel Roseberry approaches looks with his three-dimensional concepts that pop off the body.
Haute – definitely, commercial- unlikely. The American designer who makes French artisanal savoir faire (know-how) shine, literally as he incorporates gold to his masterpieces.
Well, someone has to keep our dreams alive.
Photos credit: vogue.fr , Giorgia Viola Communication for Rami Kadi, tomandlorenzo.com