Watkinson
FEELING HAUTE, HAUTE, HAUTE
IT IS glorious to have some real-life fashion content to tell you about after such a long hiatus.
The Haute Couture shows in Paris had to take place under Covid restrictions, and therefore came to us via prerecorded video links.
But, unlike the hodgepodge that was last season’s digital fashion week, this time around it was a slick affair, with influencers all over the globe dressing up in their best Prada (is anyone on Instagram NOT wearing Prada right now?) and settling down at home to watch the shows.
Creative director of Chanel, Virginie Viard, was known as the right-hand of the late Karl Lagerfeld, so it’s no surprise that her interpretation was respectful of the brand’s rich heritage, but as fresh and modern as the collections were under her predecessor.
Models strutted across a runway strewn with petals, under the dome of the
Grand Palais, looking like wealthy
May Queens attending an al fresco wedding.
A-list ‘wedding guests’ Penelope
Cruz,
Marion Cotillard, Vanessa
Paradis and her daughter Lily-Rose Depp, all dressed in iconic black ensembles, were joined by models in silver tweed suits, billowing tulle skirts and tiered and ruffled dresses.
The models may have been wearing flower crowns but this was no bohemian affair, the detailing on the boucle waistcoats and dresses was exquisite, even at a passing glance.
The Chanel show is like no other, over the years the theatrics have been well documented.
In comparison this show was simple. The setting was dramatic and the soundtrack – a mash-up of Dirty Dancing favourite, Be My Baby and a garage track – gave it the edge. Watch it for yourself on chanel.com
Of course, Chanel wasn’t the only brand wheeling out the big guns for Couture Week.
Over at Fendi, Kim Jones made sure all eyes were on his debut collection.
Opening the show with Hollywood actress Demi Moore, featuring an appearance from Kate Moss, along with her 18-year-old daughter Lila, and closing with Naomi Campbell, it was the perfect lesson on how to grab the headlines from the incoming British designer.