The dresses on display during Paris Haute Couture sometimes feel like Great Wonders of the World—and this season was no exception. As the shows come to a close on Thursday in Paris, show-goers are left with their usual lingering question: who are all these clothes really for? The answer is, sort of, no one. They are symbols of extreme creativity, dramatic vestiges of great fashion houses, and, more often than not, examples of highly original contemporary art. These are dresses that will be fought over by Hollywood stylists—and will surely end up on a few of this year’s Best Actress nominees. At Elie Saab, there were beaded pastel dresses that clung to all the right places, and Jean Paul Gaultier, perennial King of the Corset, found new inspiration in late singer Amy Winehouse. Karl Lagerfeld transported his guests on Air Chanel, and Ricardo Tisci channeled his dark side with an ode to Fritz Lang’ s 1927 film Metropolis at Givenchy. At Alexis Mabille, however, things were coming up roses: models topped with flowers of every color made the runway rival the Chelsea Flower Show, while Donatella Versace brought her usual dose of sexed up disco-glamour.