As the couture customer reportedly gets younger, designers have turned from the ballgowns of runways past to a more modern approach. From Atelier Versace's dress-meets-jumpsuit combination to Schiaparelli's technicolor fur, see highlights from the Fall/Winter 2014 Couture collections in Paris.
Left: In a mirrored room decorated with chandeliers, designer Elie Saab did exactly what he does best: Send incredibly intricate, awards season-worthy gowns down the couture runway. There was no shortage of beading or embroidery here—in fact, most of the pieces were decorated from head-to-toe.
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Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli have discovered the formula for success at Valentino. Although predictable, the duo's latest couture collection, shown Thursday, was as ethereal and romantic as ever. Sticking with earthy, natural elements, the presentation featured draped, one-shoulder dresses, white toga-style frocks, and the familiar long-sleeved gowns with subtle embroidery that have popped up incessantly on the red carpet. Fabrics were soft and loose, a nod to the Pre-Raphaelites whom Grazia Chiuri and Piccioli pulled inspiration from. It was simple—not to say the pieces weren't beautiful—but do we really want a couture collection to be simple? No. Save that for ready-to-wear, which is exactly what the collection felt like.
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We've come to expect some variety of mask from the Maison Martin Margiela show, but it's always hard to guess what surprising element the house will bring to the runway each season. For Fall/Winter 2014, designer Matthieu Blazy showed an array of tailored pants, kimono-style jackets, and tube dresses that were new, of course, but felt vintage. Some of the fabrics were in fact borrowed, like the brocade vest that, according to the program, was "probably part of a costume for an Oriental party given by Denise and Paul Poiret..." Each piece was intricately crafted, from the dresses decorated with coins to one jacket's colorful floral embroidery. And then there was a strapless gown with beaded, heart-shaped bodies that read "I LOVE YOU," which, if anything, summed up exactly how we felt about the collection.
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Kate Hudson, Pink, and Chloe Grace Moretz were among the attendees at Giorgio Armani's couture show Wednesday. Things were red, black, and white, and heavily beaded (not unusual for the designer), but the reconstructed silhouettes and wide variety of textures (vinyl! nylon! organza!) gave things a modern touch. Shorts, capes, and tube tops (yes, this was a couture collection) paraded down the runway with the same confidence as, say, the strapless sequin and tulle gowns that closed out the presentation. There were, of course, still many pieces for the dedicated Armani customer: tailored suits, boxy evening coats, and sexy pencil skirts. But this time, they were paired with wildly decorated headpieces designed by Philip Treacy, who also sat front row. Welcome to the new age of Armani Privé.
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Karl Lagerfeld called his latest collection "Haute Couture Without the Couture," which makes sense, of course, coming from the man who turned running sneakers into a high-fashion footwear statement. Lagerfeld has been ahead of the game when it comes to attracting a younger audience to a brand that has always been associated with sophisticated older women. But with edgy stars like Jared Leto and Kristen Stewart (the current face of the brand) sitting front row, it was evident that Chanel is for all age demographics. The cuts of the jackets and tops were structural and square, but the dresses were presented in a variety of forms: There was a strapless, bright blue tube dress with slight tweed embellishments on Sigrid Agren (who also sported elbow-length furry gloves), a light blue look on Soo Joo Park that looked part-blue jay, part-cotton candy, and a red, black, and white tweed dress was sent down the runway on Kendall Jenner, who looked just like any other model. There's one thing Lagerfeld loves about couture, and that's designing some drop-dead gorgeous wedding gowns. Most were simple silhouettes, featuring gold and silver embroidery, but the true standout was the final look: a maternity dress for the pregnant bride as seen on Ashleigh Good. "I like pregnant women," he explained. "She looks so elegant, so noble."
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Although still fairly new at the label, Raf Simons continues to bring more life to Christian Dior with every collection. This was, yet again, one of his strongest collections to date, delivering a little bit of everything we could possibly want from a label with such a rich design history. It was that legacy that Simons looked to for inspiration, particularly the house's strong relationship with the Belle Epoque. "If I had been [working] at that time, what would be my interest, conceptually or technically or architecturally?" Simons said. "What would I be excited about?" Simons took that fascination and modernized it, showing pannier dresses not for Marie-Antoinette, but instead the hip young Parisian, floor-length dusters in dark shades of wool and fur, and cute, young ensembles of cashmere sweaters with miniskirts. There were winter whites juxtaposed with cobalt blues, and solid black mixed with bright yellow and pink. It was delicate yet bold in the same way that it was old but new again. In other words, it was a hit.
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Giambattista Valli was clearly targeting a younger audience with his latest couture collection—particularly the girl on holiday on the French Riviera. Self-described as having “a late-'60s, early-'70s kind of freedom and eccentricity,” Valli's presentation featured the most sophisticated-looking beach coverups or pajama sets, all in colors and silhouettes that were reminiscent of decades past. Sailor stripes came in the form of wrap dresses, boxy separates, and one standout flared-skirt dress. Earthy florals (in green, yellow, and white) decorated loosely fitting maxi skirts and dresses, and three silky numbers toward the close of the show were adorned with colorful birds. Not one model passed, however, without a white fitted turban atop their head and a pair of sunglasses, the quintessential accessories to sit poolside in Cannes. The final four looks were more in Valli's typical style: billowing ballgowns with layered tulle skirts. They paused on the runway in their cotton-candy colors (fading pink, lavender, yellow, and turquoise) as Valli took his bow.
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When Marco Zanini made his debut for the House of Schiaparelli last season, audiences thought he went all out. But his second collection, shown Tuesday, proved that Zanini had even more to prove for the label's revival. "Last season I felt really the fright," he explained before the show. "I was so afraid about touching the legacy, because camp is a trap that is always around the corner with Schiaparelli. But I realized if I wanted to find the look, I cannot avoid going there, so why don't I go there full-on?" The result was an incredibly vivid and eclectic presentation, featuring everything from technicolor fur sleeves, millinery reminiscent of Anna Piaggi's infamous hat collection, and separates adorned with sequined butterflies, pompoms, and even an oversize, scripted "ES." Couture may be filled with ballgowns (which Zanini presented), but it can also be filled with leopard print and an array of neon fabrics. Zanini hasn't just revived the house that Elsa Schiaparelli built. He's brought it to the next level.
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Jennifer Lopez is the epitome of the Versace woman: Undeniably sexy, yet still sophisticated and refined. So it was fitting that the 44-year-old singer arrived at the Italian label’s couture show Sunday in Paris sporting a quintessential Donatella look: a white evening gown/single-legged jumpsuit combination. Since its revival in 2012, Atelier Versace has established itself as a red-carpet force to be reckoned with, dressing everyone from Angelina Jolie to Uma Thurman and Jessica Chastain. Its signature deconstructed, draped gown style adorned with chains, embellishments, or even the house’s Medusa symbol, have glamorized the seemingly tacky aesthetic typically associated with its clothing. For her Fall/Winter 2014 couture collection, Donatella looked toward the 1950s for inspiration: Sophisticated, hip-hugging dresses, tailored trousers, and blazers with slightly emphasized shoulders were shown, all with the glitzy, sexified Versace touch. "I am Versace," the designer told Style.com before the presentation. "I have to show it to the world." And she certainly did.
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