All eyes are on the latest look, the one dedicated to bridal fashion? Not exactly: because in every haute couture collection, historically notorious for blending years of heritage and preciousness, here it has been shown through the different releases that even a long plissé dress can turn into a magnificent and perfectly suitable dress to wear for the wedding day. This is the magic of haute couture, of all those hand-stitched details, of the fabrics skillfully hand-made that take shape and adapt to the body to perfection when they are worn.

There is the austerity of the wedding dresses by Balenciaga: the fiftieth haute couture show was at the hands of Demna Gvasalia, who had the burden of stitching present and past in a collection full of meaning, even if only made for the set and for “fruition”. The bride is traditionally white and completely concealed by a veil ton sur ton: all attention is paid to the tailoring of the garment.

Moving on to Chanel, which offers a long princess-style dress with balloon sleeves. Ethereal, unexpectedly short and dotted with crystals that conceal the bow of the hairstyle. Even the bouquet amazes – a simple bouquet of wild flowers.

Pure bucolic elegance for Dior: Maria Grazia Chiuri relies on a carpet of 3D flowers sewn by hand on tulle. The surprise is on the chosen shade, an enveloping sage green.

With Fendi we return to Ancient Rome: light clothes that open in important sails give a harmonic volume to the silhouettes. The garments are inspired by the pepli and are characterized by a clean line.

Designer Giambattista Valli focuses on volume, ruffles and tulle: stylistic elements that characterize his entire creative line, here they become couture wedding dresses full of virtuosity and redundancy. The result is a skillful workmanship of the fabric, sculpting the bride like a goddess. The romantic cape is beautiful: a bridal idea to be copied immediately.

Elie Saab focuses on preciousness: the jade suit and trousers have exquisite tailoring, while the fabrics are customized with crystal embroidery. The two long wedding dresses are the quintessential haute couture bride dresses for autumn-winter 2021 2022.

Finally, the bride of Schiaparelli: a contemporary interpretation of the bridal look straight from the 80s, with drapes and volumes that wrap the figure like a cocoon.

Words By Tommaso Donati, Graphic By Emily Chapillon

The post The Best Wedding Dresses From Haute Couture Season 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.

Though Gaultier retired last year, he said his couture house would continue on, with future collections being created by a changing carousel of designers. Abe, the Creative Director of Sacai, was the first to have the honour — and yesterday presented a beautiful blend of for where her own talent for inventive garment structures meets the iconic ground-breaking aesthetic of the House of Gaultier.

“I gave her complete freedom. I didn’t want to see any of the finished looks,” Gaultier told Women’s Wear Daily.

Abe’s work brought many unforgettable touch-points on the Gaultier timeline into 2021— from line stitched bustiers and plays on pinstripes (both made ultra-famous by being worn by Madonna during her “Blonde Ambition” era), to the Icelandic-style garments originally modelled by Björk on Gaultier’s 90s runway.

“I didn’t even have to look in the archives, I had in my mind the outfits I wanted to reference: something that Björk wore, the plaid — I had all these ideas.”

Abe to Women’s Wear Daily

Even Gaultier himself acted as inspiration. The designer, who is often still referred to as Enfant Terrible is known for his own personal look — often wearing sailor sweaters and tartan kilts mixed in with knee-high boots. Abe used Gaultier’s personal style trademarks to inspire tartan knee-high boots, sailor-sweater-inspired tunics and dresses, and even bustiers and evening wear that referenced the workman’s jumpsuit Gaultier is also known to wear.

The look of Jean Paul Gaultier’s designs of course could never be described as conventional. This is why there is such a genius in taking what could be considered to be traditional or even utilitarian fabrics and mixing them up with more dynamic presentations, textures and silhouettes that can create such a visual impact.

Just as Gaultier did before her, Abe ensured that luxury was ever-present, even when working with deconstructed “bomber” jackets, denim and trench coats. The designer expertly mixed elements of utilitarianism and punk with the extravagance of couture by mixing deconstruction with perfected craftsmanship. The stripes of sailor sweaters and the checks of tartans are not made from basic fabrics — rather, they are created with artistically meticulous trompe l’oeil fashioned out of luxurious silk organza.

A number of the garments were also complemented with sheer “tattoo” second-skin garments designed in collaboration with the LA-based tattoo artist Dr Woo — with a selection of these pieces currently available on Gaultier’s website as a part of his recently relaunched Ready-to-Wear collection.

Abe used “traditional” fabrics on unexpected garments — with floor-length gowns made of cable knits and trench coats made into voluminous skirts.

Of course, incredible attention to detail was presented throughout the looks — metallic trims were made of perfectly placed safety denim was deconstructed into dramatic glamour, and tall platformed boots from Pierre Hardy beautifully finished off the looks.

As the show closed, its guest of honour, Gaultier himself, stepped onto the runway wearing an “Enfants terribles” shirt, joining Abe, who matched him in her own shirt saying “Enfants Terribles“.

The Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fall 2021 Couture collection can be viewed in its entirety here.

Words By Victoria Arrington, Graphic By Emily Chapillon

The post Chitose Abe Brings Her New Vision To Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fall 2021 Haute Couture appeared first on Voir Fashion.