Haute Couture Makes A Grand Return In The 2022 Paris Fashion Week

Haute Couture Makes A Grand Return In The 2022 Paris Fashion Week

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From Dior to Schiaparelli, Haute Couture cements its comeback with a bang.

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The definitive return of haute couture in the first installment of the Paris Fashion Week this 2022 is all the proof we need to know that fashion will always find a way. 

Here, we highlight houses present in the Paris Fashion Week that were testing and challenging haute couture’s bounds. There’s Schiaperelli, which blurred the lines between fashion and art. Valentino and Dior meanwhile, chose to pair haute couture with meaningful intentions that transcend the conventional ideas and opinions of the world regarding what fashion should represent. 

Here’s how haute couture came back with a bang in the Paris Fashion Week. We touch on the creative minds at the helm, their unique creations and what these collections are all about. 

Dior

Maria Grazia Chiuri idealized the Spring/Summer 2022 collection of the Maison to explore the interaction between the body and the space around it. Hence, the appearance of long capes, fluid black moroccan silk crepe evening gowns, and dainty tulle dresses that delicately met the catwalk. In true Dior Haute Couture fashion, the creative director sent out apparel that were bristling with details. Just like last year’s haute couture collection, this wardrobe also has its own take of embroidery—cue the collection’s intricately embroidered tights. 

Chiuri’s sophisticated creations jumped from texture to texture by exploring different fabrics—from fine silver lamé, silk crepe to unbleached ecru wool.

The significance of Dior’s haute couture comeback in the Paris Fashion Week lies beyond its baroque fashion. Its value was elevated when it took recognition of the genius that Indian ateliers and artists offer. 

Chiuri before the show passionately discussed, “There is an idea that Indian embroidery is something cheap. We talk a lot about the incredible ateliers we have here in the Avenue Montaigne. But Indian artisans make embroidery with just the same knowledge and expertise and depth of tradition as embroidery in France and Italy. This excellence is not just ours.” 

The stunning collection that was showcased in the gardens of the Musée Rodin in Paris, Milan used Indian tapestries as its backdrop. It was created by artists and married couple, Madhvi and Manu Parekh. This also marks the Italian designer’s first collaboration with a male artist. 

Valentino 

Among the highly anticipated Haute Couture shows during Paris Fashion Week, Pierpaolo Piccioli is always known to stun the crowd with bold colors and impeccable silhouettes. And by means of the creative director’s “Anatomy of Couture” collection, he accomplishes exactly that.

In a socially-distanced show, he sends out brightly-hued dresses that elegantly puts the focus on shoulders and neck with a variety of cuts—from off-shoulders, tubes to plunging necklines. While Christmas’ festivities are far over, sequins and intricate beading rule fluid trousers and the sumptuous outwear. 

Piccioli truly made sure there’s something for everyone’s taste with the appearance of structured bold colored tefetta gowns neatly wrapped in giant bows. Let’s not forget the gold mini dress that points to Roman and Hellenistic draping, too. 

Continuing his history of unconventional takes on what fashion represents, the Italian designer recruited models that challenged the norms seen on runways. The show’s main characters showcased a variety of ages, body shapes and sizes. Among his recruits were runway legends like Kristen McMenamy, Mariacarla Boscono, and Hannelore Knuts.  

Picciolo was true to his word when he described his collection as, “a composite harmony of physical types, and the garments that dress them.” And what’s not to love about his description? If anything, we hope his bold move is a trailblazer to a movement that headlines that fashion is for all and dismisses the notion that you are to adjust to clothes’ sizes and not vice versa. 

Chanel 

The luxury house’s Spring 2022 haute couture collection for Paris Fashion Week featured a lot of movement (feather details and chiffon accents). And what better way to fulfill that by embarking the show with Chanel’s brand ambassador, Charlotte Casiraghi, riding through the Grand Palais? While doing so, the renowned equestrian was donning a revamped version of the brand’s classic tweed jacket—with sequins. This is not the last of designer Virginie Viard’s reimagination of the staple. Later in the show, another iteration with patchwork of different pastel tweeds sets foot on the runway. 

Viard, for her last Couture shows, relied heavily on punk inspirations. While some of her work for the Spring 2022 collection still reflect those, this season she placed the limelight on Chanel’s more traditional sartorial codes and gave her own spin to it. Besides the tweed jacket, she also reimagined Chanel’s bouclé by giving it a cheerful new spirit with its pink and white stripe. 

Her collection also featured a lot of co-ords that were composed of matching jackets and trousers that sported palazzo silhouettes from the 1960s. Models were also seen walking in two-tone Mary Janes that were well-loved during the 80’s. Not too far off, some designs also patronized 2020’s peek-a-boo midriffs that were further elevated by Viard with the use of fringes, macramé, lace and colorful jeweled buttons. 

The highlight of the varied collection was its final act and it’s enough to get any future bride gushing. The show was closed by a silk and chiffon wedding dress detailed with jewels on the straps and neckline.

There is no exact word to encapsulate the creative director’s collection. It was a mix of decades and aesthetics that paid homage to Chanel’s classics and touched on what was vogue in previous eras. 

Schiaparelli 

Last but not the least is the haute couture comeback of Schiaparelli in the 2022 Paris Fashion Week. The collection was coined by designer, Daniel Roseberry, as “An Age of Discipline”.

The designs sought to challenge what is usually expected of haute couture. The collection’s palette dismisses loud colors by revolving on three main colors only. It also discounted grand volumes such as glorious poufs and grand silhouettes. Instead, as Roseberry puts it he created something “different and restrained,” without compromising on impact and what’s chic. 

Relying on a minute range of colors—black, white and the Maison’s signature gold—the effortless tailored silhouettes evoked a beautiful sense of uniformity. Each design is paired with elaborate and heavily detailed gold hardware. 

Despite the simplicity, it is inspired by something out of this world—mythical figures such as goddesses and aliens. 

A lot of details also came into play like the gilded cone bras that paid respect to legendary designer Jean Paul Gautlier. Many of Schiaparelli’s go-to elements were also revisited such as padlocks, lobsters, doves and individual body parts that were showcased in stunning gold sculptures. The artful combination of clothing and intricate structures brings justice to the saying, “fashion is a form of art.”

An Age of Discipline” was a seamless juxtaposition between opulence and simplicity. 

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