As Paris Fashion Week draws to a close, Voir has your final rundown of unforgettable shows.

Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney is the pioneer of ethical fashion, her designs repeatedly remind us that neglecting leather and fur doesn’t mean leaving behind quality and style. Her FW22 show (set in an ultra-modern Parisian dome) created silky skirts, denim flight suits and fluffy trench coats in a colour palette of pastel tones. The designer made use of fluid shapes and negative space to create an artistic and lively, yet wearable collection.

To create the collection, McCartney worked with artist Frank Stella, using his work as inspiration. The parallels between Stella’s work and McCartney’s designs are evident in her use of abstract prints in a minimalist meets maximalist style. On working with the artist, Stella admitted to Vogue it was “scary because he has incredibly good taste”. Despite this, the two came together to create an amalgamation of artsy prints and high fashion silhouettes.

Louis Vuitton

With more prints and patterns than imaginable, Nicolas Ghesquiere captured the beauty and culture of Paris through an old money inspired FW22 collection showcased at the Musee d’Orsay. Moving away from the strict gender codes that once held a tight grip over the fashion industry, Louis Vuitton’s newest collection saw women in traditional menswear from ties to pinstripe pants.

The collection blurred the lines between streetwear and couture silhouettes as loose-fitting sweaters were placed over flaring maxi skirts in floral prints. Playing on the trending old-money style garments, collared sweaters synonymous with vintage golf wear were paired with pocketed dungaree dresses. The quaint collection complemented the romantic marble setting.

The show’s audience was filled with the fashion house’s muses. Sarah Paulson and Emma Chamberlain sat in the front row, a prime spot to watch Squid Game’s HoYeon Jung open the show in a brunette boxy jacket.

Givenchy

Since becoming creative director of Givenchy, Matthew Williams has turned the house into a pioneer of alternative modern fashion by blending key house codes like feminine elegance with fashion-forward flair.

For his FW22 collection, Williams brought nostalgic noughties grunge back to the forefront. Baggy band tees, tight-fitting tanks, and leather boots transported us to the days of Nirvana- fever as fierce models stormed the runway to futuristic beats.

While the collection was fun and light-hearted, the fashion house did not fail to pay their respects to those currently suffering in Ukraine; Givenchy sent both blue and yellow looks between the emo wear to show solidarity with the war-torn country.

Schiaparelli

Schiaparelli took their legendary surrealist designs to new heights with a vintage horror-inspired FW22 collection. Claws, cone bras, and torso shaped purses each featured in a black and white filter- looking back to Elsa Schiaparelli’s phantasmagorical accessories (like the telephone shaped handbag) for inspiration.

Daniel Roseberry also drew inspiration from gothic cult movies, like Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands, as model Mila Vaneeten was accessorised with knives posing as gloves. The model’s gleaming smiles contrasted the moody garments as Rouguy posed in a monochromatic black look featuring iconic cones, studs, and swirls that the brand has become known for.

Akris

Drawing inspiration from Reinhard Voigt’s artwork, squares and geometric patterns dominated Akris’ FW22 collection. Incorporating pixellated prints onto trenchcoats and blazers, the garments were vibrant and futuristic. Creating an optical illusion through abstract prints, designer Albert Kriemler brought navy and grey looks to Paris Fashion Week.

Even the show’s setting fit the square trend as models stormed a light and open square-based building designed by Kriemler’s long time friend Sou Fujimoto.

Giambattista Valli

Capturing the fierce street style of Parisian women, Italian designer Giambattista Valli looked to vintage French street style to create an elegant day and nightwear collection. Floral gowns, leopard print blazers, and frothy frills came together to create an eclectic mix of textures encapsulating the highlights of a 1960s wardrobe.

Incorporating abstract accessories into the collection, dangerously chunky heels, oversized bows, and upside-down sunglasses played to an OTT representation of day-to-day Parisian attire. Speaking about the show to Vogue, the designer admitted the collection took a swift turnaround in response to the Ukrainian crisis. Valli wanted his designs to symbolise hope amongst the turbulence of the times- a goal he achieved through fun-loving florals and bright pastel designs.

Chanel

Since the days of Coco, tweed has served as Chanel’s staple material. As an ode to the brand’s history, Chanel’s current creative director (Virginie Viard) incorporated the material onto traditional skirt suits, dresses, and blazers. The show was a glamorous exploration of Chanel’s ‘eternal house code’.

The checked fabric featured in a wide range of shades and designs. Bright red suits and sage green wellingtons reminisced nostalgic royal attire while tweed mini dresses were a nod to England in the 1960s. The British influence on Chanel has been apparent since the label’s initiator (Gabrielle Coco Chanel) had a love affair with The Duke of Westminster. Since then the French fashion house has taken in inspiration from our practical wellingtons to cosy cardigans; this collection shows the tight relationship between English dressing and Chanel isn’t set to stop anytime soon!

Miu Miu

After the success of their SS22 pleated mini-skirt worn by icons from Hailey Bieber to Nicole Kidman, Miu Miu continued their ultra-mini legacy with tiny skirts and even tinier shorts in a minuscule length. Keeping to a clean and modern aesthetic, the creative director of Miu Miu (Fabio Zambernardi) perched white scarfs around model’s necks while knee-high socks threw us back to vintage Wimbledon matches. The most jaw-dropping look from the FW22 collection was donned by supermodel Adut Akech who charged the runway a sequined see-through two-piece paired with high-rise socks and sturdy black pumps.

Words By Olivia Booth

_{Photo Credit: Giambattista Valli, Alessandro Lucioni}

The post Designers And Artists Unite To Deliver Optimism And Ease As PFW Draws To A Close appeared first on Voir Fashion.

Giorgio Armani Privé focuses on lightness: the splendour of fabrics that look like liquids, on the brightness of grains and silks crossed by a thin metal wire. Long evening dresses seem to fly, and delicate blouses are moved by ruffles in crinoline thanks to their particular construction. The male pinstripes of the Armani style tell a surprising transformation, one that is feminine in its nature.

Chanel Haute Couture is inspired by the world of art for this new magical collection. To explain it is the creative director Virginie Viard: “I started from the works of Berthe Morisot, Marie Laurencin and Édouard Manet. There are impressionist-inspired dresses, skirts that look like paintings and a long white satin dress dotted with black bows like that of Morisot“.

Dior Haute Couture explains how returning to the “present” leads to a new focus on haptic materiality, which in the virtual era also means reinterpreting embroidery: it is no longer just decorative and ornamental, but the mix of different substances connected to the senses of sight and touch. The book Threads of Life by Clare Hunter, the textile artist and curator was fundamental to this collection and allowed the acquisition of a critical awareness for Maria Grazia Chiuri of the essential value of weaving and embroidery. This art, in particular, is so dear to her because it transmits her a memory of protection, hidden behind the gestures of care and protest.

The new collection by Schiaparelli is divided into three parts: the first pays homage to the Schiaparelli jackets of the past, the second focuses on the body and jewelry, while the third celebrates color: “For two years I said that I was not interested in nostalgia. This is the season where this feeling began to surface. I asked myself, again and again: what would happen if I combined a little Manet; a little Lacroix; a little ’80s; a little 1880; a little Matador; a little space alien; a little Ingres; a little glitter, a lot of color? Could I? And what would that look like? The answer is this, my fourth couture collection, “The Matador”: A collection that honors Elsa’s vision but is not a slave to it. If last season was focused on deconstruction, pushing beyond the boundaries of what couture is and trying to overturn all of its unspoken rules, this season I felt like a new freedom. That of doing something ferociously, undeniably, unequivocally beautiful – because sometimes you have to rebel against beauty to return to it” explained the creative director.

The time has come for everyone to go out, to live, and, above all, to dress ourselves as we wish. With a heavy past behind and an uncertain future, Giambattista Valli thinks of today and celebrates high fashion by playing with meters and meters of tulle, between flounces, ruffles and bows, to give life to the dream. The collection seems to explore two dimensions, one darker characterized by creations in black, and the other livelier that focuses on pastel tones and bright red.

Words By Tommaso Donati

The post All The Best Looks That Came Out Of The Paris Haute Couture AW 2021 Runways appeared first on Voir Fashion.

‘Go Big and Stay Home’

Giambattista Valli

We couldn’t forget to mention the beautiful designer that goes under the name of Giambattista Vali! The Haute Couture show is showstopping: a breath-taking juxtaposition between intricacy and extravagance, serenity and movement, sheerness and density. As the ballet dancer twirls around, and the models promenade, it is clear that they are both simply muses; the true movement is woven within the clothes. The dresses, in other words, are walking the models.  

Centre to this campaign was rotation, each model relishing in their own expression by spinning around amongst layers of ruffles, diamantes and applique. Within each piece there is an ethereal contrast, tight bodices paired with flounced skirts, rich reds sewn onto smooth cream, fitting sleeves finished with statement feathered detail. The dynamicism in each piece instigates a conversation between the design, the fabric and the detail; a conversation which seems to unapologetically submerge itself within its own movement and expression.

Throughout the collection we see a clustering of detail, small yet compacted details which marry to exude a beauty en masse. The sensationalness of this radiates ‘couture’, a rich indulgence in excessiveness, Giambattista Vali dancing at the boundary between fashion and art.

In its beautiful entirety, this Couture collection is a museum of the otherworldliness of couture; when spotlighted, however, each piece whispers of liberation, reminding us of the gorgeous lovechild which comes from fashion’s foundations: fabric, patterns, detail and movement.  

Words by Hannah Emery

The post Go Big And Stay Home: Giambattista Vali’s Haute Couture Show appeared first on Voir Fashion.

With the 73rd British Academy Film Awards being held in London last night, we have created a run down of our favourite looks that the nominated ladies on the red carpet absolutely nailed.

Margot Robbie: ‘Birds Of Prey’ actress, Margot Robbie, walked the red carpet in a black peplum-waisted Chanel number with floating laced sleeves and an open back.

Florence Pugh: ‘Little Women’ star, Florence Pugh, opted for a voluminous, puffy fuchsia gown with a long train by Dries Van Noten, standing out in a crowd dominated by black dresses and tuxedos.

Zoe Kravitz: Glittering in gold, Zoe Kravitz shone on the red carpet in a metallic gold Saint Laurent dress which she paired with simple red drop earrings that matched both her red-lip and the red carpet.

Scarlett Johansson: ‘Marriage Story’ star, Scarlett Johansson, didn’t hold back for the 73rd BAFTAs as she floated down the red carpet covered in pink sequins and feathers, displaying a thigh split and short feathered train. This Versace number was accessorised with some simple drop earrings to add even more sparkle and flair.

Emilia Clarke: ‘Game of Thrones’ star, Emilia Clarke, chose an elegant floor-length custom-style Schiaparelli gown with sequin embellishment covering the bodice and trailing down the skirt. She paired this with some simple purple gemstone earrings, adding a splash of colour to a classic black look.

Jodie Turner-Smith: Accompanied by her husband Joshua Jackson, Jodie Turner-Smith looked radiant in a halter-neck yellow Gucci gown that perfectly illuminated her baby bump, as she walked the red carpet glowing and covered in sequins.

Naomie Harris: Scarlett Johansson wasn’t the only glamorous actress flaunting a thigh-high split, as British actress Naomie Harris waltzed down the red carpet in a tasseled silver Michael Kors number. This silver was continued throughout her look as she accessorised with a matching clutch and strappy heels.

Ella Balinska: Looking like a spring day, Ella Balinska glided on the red carpet in a pink and white floral Giambattista Valli gown that featured a ruffled hem and neckline. The ruffle-trimmed cape added an element of drama to the otherwise delicate ensemble.

Lily-Rose Depp: The 20-year-old model reinvented the nude look in a sheer lace LBD, striking a pose as she stood out from the crowd in this sexy Chanel number. Showing that sometimes simple is all you need, Lily-Rose Depp opts for some open-toed black pumps and silver accessories.

Words by Katie Janes

Graphics by Katie Janes

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The post Our Favourite Looks From the 2020 BAFTAs appeared first on Voir Fashion.

Haute Couture Fashion Week is a chance to take a step back from consumerism and reevaluate the meaning of fashion as an art form, in the context of the impeccable craftsmanship and thousands of hours of work it takes to create an haute couture collection. From aquatic-inspired silhouettes and blooming floral ball gowns to a euphoric farewell extravaganza, take a look at the most breathtaking couture creations to grace the runway in Paris this week.

Iris Van Herpen

Iris Van Herpen Spring Couture 2020

Iris Van Herpen’s scientific fascinations once again served as the focal point for her spring haute couture runway show, her ‘Sensory Seas’ collection intertwining references to deep-sea hydrozoa and the illustrations of 19th-century neuroscientist and pathologist Santiago Ramón y Cajal. The show opened with a black gown whose leather corset was laser-cut to resemble the neural pathways mapped out by the neuroscientist in his illustrations. Later on, Van Herpen sent models down the runway in otherworldly silhouettes that seemed to blend into their skin as they swished around like marine animals in hand-cut glass organza dresses and gowns ornamented with 3D embellishments, with bursts of purple, red and blue running through the collection. An ethereal manifestation of her ability to truly bring her clothes to life.

Christian Dior

Christian Dior Spring Couture 2020

Since her debut at Dior in 2016, Maria Grazia Chiuri, the brand’s first female artistic director in its 73-year history, has triumphantly woven feminist philosophy into the iconic fashion house’s identity through her collections. Her SS20 couture runway show, inspired by the American feminist artist Judy Chicago, continued that legacy through an exploration of the concept of divine femininity. In the garden of Paris’ Musée Rodin, the runway was erected within the dramatic setting of a tented structure entitled ‘The Female Divine’, with richly embroidered tapestries hanging from the ceiling posing the question “What if women ruled the world?” Drawing inspiration from the classical world, the concept of divine femininity and ancient goddesses took shape in liquid gold gowns, gilded power suits with hints of Grecian draping and delicate jacquard shorts veiled beneath diaphanous one-shouldered chiffon. Fleets of Hellenic-inspired gowns populated the runway in metallic colour palettes with swathes of gold fringing, completed with golden headbands and pearl-drop earrings. Classical symbolisms were embedded throughout in the form of tiaras and earrings adorned with golden ears of wheat, a symbol of luck, wealth and prosperity, and peacock feathers embroidered onto an evening gown to symbolise the creative power of women, with the combined effect of reinforcing the show’s powerful message of femininity.

Giambattista Valli

Giambattista Valli Spring Couture 2020

Rather than staging an haute couture show, a fleeting 20-minute exclusive experience, Giambattista Valli opened up his spring collection to the public in an exhibition, inviting visitors to linger over his mastery of eccentric extravagance at the Jeu de Paume on Monday evening. Exaggerated shapes and volumes abounded, with asymmetrical, feathered, fringed and ornate ballgowns skillfully decorated with precious flower embroideries. Influenced by the blooming landscapes of the Amalfi Coast, saturated Mediterranian colour palettes evoked Italian lemon gardens and floral cornucopia, with vibrant sherbety yellows, fuschia frills and blush tulle trains.

Givenchy

Givenchy Couture 2020

Claire Waight Keller wrote a sartorial love letter to nature through her haute couture collection for Givenchy, suitably entitled “Une Lettre d’Amour”, paying homage to her native England’s Sissinghurst Castle Gardens in Kent and Hubert de Givenchy’s Le Clos Fiorentina. What resembled bouquets of blooming pansies, irises and marigolds waltzed down the runway in the form of cloche-shaped skirts and bell-cut silhouettes, with acres of tulle and floor-filling lace, completed with enveloping umbrella headpieces. Adut Akech carried a wisping organza grey blouse paired with white silk pants down the catwalk, while Kaia Gerber was the queen of the orchids in a lace bridal dress adorned with finely embroidered flowers. A glittering rose-gold and silver gown evoked the morning dew delicately cascading onto the model’s shoulders and the sun’s rays transforming into dazzling drop-sequins.

Valentino

Valentino Spring Couture 2020

Inspired by the works of Carl Jung surrounding ideas of dreams and the subconscious, Pierpaolo Piccioli’s spring 2020 Valentino couture show fittingly paid tribute to the Swiss psychoanalyst who coined the term ‘extrovert’. The collection was a maximalist dream, a flamboyant celebration of exaggerated proportions and textures – feathers, fishtails, ruffles, sequins, organza and tulle. Piccioli replicated Valentino’s traditional codes and cuts, but with unexpected twists, injecting the fishtail gown with contemporary elegance in the form of cobalt-blue sequins, cut-out florals and even adding a hint of modern practically with pockets. A series of colour explosions took to the runway, with crimson red ruffles, bubblegum pink ostrich feathers sprouting from waistlines, and acid yellow ball gowns finished with ruffled XXL opera gloves.

Jean-Paul Gaultier

Jean-Paul Gaultier Spring Couture 2020

An all-star lineup of supermodels and celebrities came together at the Theatre du Châtelet to bid a warm farewell to Jean-Paul Gaultier at his 50th-anniversary show, which the iconic designer announced just a few days before would be his haute couture swan song. With 200 plus eclectic looks gracing the catwalk, from corsets and naked bodysuits to his signature breton stripe, and a plethora of ensembles crafted from upcycled fabrics, the show was a truly spectacular culmination of five decades as one of fashion’s greatest visionaries.

Words by Ruby McAuliffe

Graphics by Séverine Denis-Lessard

The post The Best of Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week SS20 appeared first on Voir Fashion.

Set to release a range of 50-60 sporty pieces, the brand is looking to express a more functional side. Valli’s creations are known for their glamour, however in recent seasons he has begun to take a casual approach to his designs, with a move into denim and now, a sportier territory. The collection will reportedly feature puffa jackets, coats and tracksuits, all while maintaining Valli’s sophisticated and luxurious aspects within his designs.

With an expected launch being as early as January 2018, we are excited to see the sportier direction that the brand is taking.

The post Giambattista Valli: Casual Chic appeared first on Voir Fashion.