Giambattista Valli ©AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL MEDINA
Giambattista Valli
The Italian designer showed his Autumn Winter 2014 haute couture collection at the Grand Palais.
Giambattista Valli opened with pajama stripes and shirt details, immediately lending proceedings a sense of ease that ran through the show, the laidback luxury perhaps best summed up by the models' retro sunglasses and silk hair scarf up-dos.
That's not to say the collection was lacking glamour: from the get-go the iridescent finishes and metallic hardware on shoes added sheen to the multiple takes on monochrome stripes.
Colour came in the form of pastel florals, delicate embroidery, lace, feathers, fur and plenty more pajama shirts. Those florals became almost pixelated into modern, abstract pointillist dots of colour before the final flourish: a quartet of brides in four different shades from Valli's core palette. Scarves and sunglasses in place, of course.
Schiaparelli ©AFP PHOTO / FRANCOIS GUILLOT
Schiaparelli
The Paris-based house first established by Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973) showed its second haute couture runway collection since the year 1954.
The sophomore collection from Italian designer Marco Zanini (the man tasked with giving shape and substance to the rebirth of the classic designer label) was packed with dramatic shapes for Autumn Winter 2014.
The opening pieces featured oversized sleeves and chunky shoulders in fur (the big shoulders ran all the way through the collection), followed by a lovestruck (and bleeding) heart motif.
Zanini worked a cartoonish Art Deco vibe with giant satin bows, hats and headpieces worn at jaunty angles, and elaborate silhouettes. The retro decadence was matched with leopard print pieces (to match the runway) and crocodile leather skirts, belts and jackets. And the animal magic continued with butterfly and pigeon prints on silk, while the inescapable heritage of the brand got a nod via “ES” initials in sequins.
On Aura Tout Vu © AFP PHOTO / PATRICK KOVARIK
On Aura Tout Vu
The Paris-based brand held its Autumn Winter 2014 haute couture show in the gardens of the Palais Royal.
Bulgarian duo Livia Stoianova and Yassen Samouilov of On Aura Tout Vu explored the world of H2O, in both its liquid and solid states, with their latest collection.
They opened with coat dresses, dressed up with crystal embellishment and rounded shoulders. The aquatic action arrived in the form of retro scuba masks, coral-style detailing on fur, umbrellas, chic wellington boots and water splash prints.
The duo then turned down the heat, and explored some sharper, darker territory. Frozen icicle spikes appeared as translucent prongs on the models' shoulders and in a black-and-white photo print, while the final bridal look was a pure white Snow Queen.
Christian Dior ©AFP PHOTO / FRANCOIS GUILLOT
Christian Dior
Creative director Raf Simons unleashed his latest haute couture creations to a transfixed audience in Paris.
Christian Dior's show took place in a circular ballroom in the garden of the Musée Rodin, constructed specially for the occasion with 150,000 orchids studding the metallic walls.
Simons opened with a series of all-white looks, with corseted shapes up top, which expanded into elaborate skirts featuring delicately embroidered floral motifs.
These were followed by rivet-belted jumpsuits with asymmetrical details (more embroidery) and air force-style zippers, long double-breasted coats in neutrals worn with colored trousers, and shorter single-breasted versions in cropped fur. The show ended with a focus on coloured heels and a neat interlocking ribcage detail on dresses and tops. - AFP RELAXNEWS