Runways sparkled this week in Paris as thegreatest haute couture designers took to the city of lights to showcase their spring 2017 collections. Elsa Schiaparelli started the week off Monday.
Its collection featured an array of garments and styles, such as colorblocking and Chinoiserie themes, simply draped dresses and jackets, and everything in between.
According to Women’s Wear Daily, a popular women’s fashion journal, Schiaparelli’s design director, Bertrand Guyon, channeled the couture house’s tendencies for both opulence and simplicity. WWD also mentions the purist and surrealist touches that he incorporates into the collection.
Haute couture fashion week comes at a good time. It is concurrent with the release of the Oscar nominations.
The New York Times reported the shows have been star-studded, with Oscar nominees, including Nicole Kidman, who attended the Giorgio Armani Privé show with his niece, Roberta, in the front row.
The collection highlights an interesting color choice that now leaves everyone wondering if orange really is the new black, and if orange is going to be the color for spring 2017.
A beautifully draped orange gown with intricate lace and beading embodies elegance and grace and may be a candidate for Kidman’s red carpet gown Feb. 26.
The collection also features black garments and some black and orange contrast, which is giving all of the Halloween vibes, but, hey, if Armani says it’s okay to mix orange and black in spring and not feel as if you are ready to play some tricks or receive treats, I’m into it.
According to WWD, when asked backstage, “Why orange?” Giorgio Armani said, “Because it’s an optimistic color. Because it’s a color that suits blondes and brunettes. Because it goes beyond my usual palette of signature Armani colors.”
This decision by Armani embodies the main idea that keeps the fashion industry fresh. Designers are always looking for new ways to reinvent their brand and keep everyone on their toes by producing the unexpected.
The Christian Dior show did just this. Maria Grazia Chiuri’s debut couture collection for Dior definitely left the audience and followers of the high fashion brand stunned.
WWD reports that she drew on the founder’s love of gardens. The show began with black, brooding, sinister pieces and gowns that at first allowed for the impression of couture funeral wear. The mood then lifts as brightly colored and simple gowns emerged on the runway, showcasing the garden inspiration Chiuri had.
Chanel’s show was sure to fulfill everyone’s dreams of sparkles and glitter for the year. With an A-list model crew, featuring Lily Rose Depp, who closed the show, and fashions’ “it” girls Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid, Karl Lagerfeld produced an impeccable line that will be remembered for years.
It started off with Chanel’s classic tweed jackets and skirts, which stole the show all on their own. The audience then started to see a gradual movement towards metallic pieces and finally into fully embellished crystal and mermaid-style dresses. The incorporation of bird feathers acting as fringe on the bottom of the dresses, mixed with the crystal embellishment only added to the pieces, which allowed for elegance and a girly style.
The Paris Couture shows will come to a close today with Galia Lahav. If the world has learned anything from this season of couture, it is that designers will continue to pull off the unexpected, as Dior and Chanel have shown.
sbunes@indiana.edu
