Maison Margiela To Skip Paris Fashion Week

The official Paris Fashion Week schedule is out and looks set to draw the crowds back to the French capital post-Olympics. All eyes will be on Alessandro Michele’s debut runway show for Valentino on 29 September, after he released a surprise lookbook of his first collection.

Among the notable absentees from the show schedule is Maison Margiela, amid press reports that creative director John Galliano is leaving (the brand declined to comment). Maison Margiela is planning to host an event on 30 September, with “further details to follow in due course”, the brand said. Galliano’s most recent show was for spring/summer 2024 haute couture week in January, and the brand showed women’s ready-to-wear in February 2020, October 2020, 2021 and 2023. In January 2023, the brand also held a co-ed show at the end of men’s week in its new headquarters on the Place des États-Unis.

Off-White will also be absent as it makes its New York debut. Altogether, the spring/summer 2025 women’s ready-to-wear calendar, which will run from 23 September to 1 October, features a total of 70 shows and 38 presentations – compared to 67 and 40 for spring/summer 2024.

This season’s calendar marks the return of Gabriela Hearst, who hasn’t shown in Paris since spring/summer 2021 in October 2020. “Paris’s international reach and remarkable platform for creative expression will enable us to pursue our development based on a long-term view, combining luxury and sustainability,” Hearst said in a statement. It also marks the return of Ludovic de Saint Sernin after a one-off in New York last season, and of Y/Project, which skipped autumn/winter 2024, citing “a commitment to prioritising investments”. Christopher Esber, who scooped the 2024 Andam Prize, returns to the presentation calendar, alongside Heliot Emil and Aigle. Newcomers to the show calendar are Alainpaul and Niccolò Pasqualetti, an LVMH Prize finalist. (The LVMH Prize winners will be announced on 10 September.)

Chanel on 1 October will hold its first ready-to-wear show since Virginie Viard bowed out, designed by the studio. Dries Van Noten’s collection will also be by the studio, after the eponymous designer bid farewell in June. Other highlights will include Dior, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Loewe, Chloé, Balmain, Alexander McQueen, Hermès, The Row and Victoria Beckham. After Louis Vuitton closes the curtain of the official calendar on 1 October, fashion week-goers will spend the evening at Disneyland where Coperni is staging its show. With some dismantling of the Olympic installations still going on, the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM) has advised its members to avoid show venues in the Place de la Concorde area.

Peter Hawkings Exits Tom Ford

Peter Hawkings is exiting Tom Ford less than a year after taking over the creative director role from its eponymous founder, Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) has confirmed. A successor has not yet been announced.

“I would like to express my gratitude to Peter for his exceptional contributions to Tom Ford from the very beginning,” said Guillaume Jesel, president and CEO of Tom Ford and luxury business development at ELC, in a statement. The spring/summer 2025 collection will be presented in the Milan showroom in September 2024.

"I want to thank Peter for his collaboration since Tom Ford Fashion became part of the Ermenegildo Zegna Group. Along with his team, Peter has contributed to this important initial phase of development. I wish him all the best in his next chapter,” added Lelio Gavazza, CEO of Tom Ford Fashion.

Tom Ford himself stepped down from the brand in 2023 following its $2.8 billion (£2.2 million) sale to ELC the year before. Hawkings made his debut as the brand’s creative lead in September 2023, following nearly 25 years working alongside its founder, first at Gucci and then at Tom Ford, which was established in 2005.

Until Ford’s exit in early 2023, Hawkings ran the brand’s menswear operation, which was based out of London and launched in 2007. Since taking on the creative director role, he has integrated the formerly US-based womenswear design studio into the London menswear operation.

Shortly before showing that first collection, Hawkings told Vogue about the moment when, in November 2022, Ford privately revealed his plans to sell the brand and step down. He said: “I honestly never, ever thought that Tom would ever sell. I thought he would be one of the Ralph Laurens of the world and continue and continue. So he dropped that bombshell — and then the second bombshell was that he was putting me forward for creative director.”

Hawkings’s sudden exit will lead to instant speculation as to who might be be anointed as Tom Ford’s second successor. The founder’s codes of precisely honed high-octane sensuality are extremely distinct, but cannot merely be parroted in order for the brand to continue to develop.

In April 2023, it was revealed that Ford had sold his eponymous brand in a deal that saw his existing partners in beauty, eyewear and ready-to-wear assume control. Tom Ford International, the company responsible for the Tom Ford fashion business, was fully acquired by the Milan-based Zegna Group. The acquisition was part of a joint operation led by Estée Lauder Companies (ELC), Tom Ford’s existing beauty partner, and Marcolin, its eyewear partner.

Under the terms of the deal, Zegna Group has a 20-year license agreement to produce Tom Ford Fashion, with a 10-year renewal option. Gildo Zegna, CEO of the Zegna Group, told Vogue Business that a key factor in his company’s successful acquisition was its existing relationship with Ford: it first worked with the designer to produce his tailored menswear when he was at Gucci and later inked an agreement to produce Tom Ford’s menswear (designed by Hawkings), when it launched in 2006. Said Zegna: “Then, in 2016, we bought 15 per cent of Tom Ford International, on the fashion side, and I entered the board, and we became more close.”

When Ford decided to cash out, says Zegna, there was interest “from a good number of players more important than us. But with Estée Lauder, we won because they gave credit to our [existing] partnership and the job that we had already done.”

It is understood that Zegna’s prime ambition for Tom Ford ready-to-wear is to expand its womenswear sales, which, in 2023, accounted for 30 per cent of Tom Ford International’s revenues. Today’s news suggests that the next creative director will focus the brand in that direction; Hawkings, for his part, is a seasoned menswear designer.

The NYFW S/S´25 Schedule Is Out

Summer is at its peak right now, which means it’s time to start thinking about the September shows. The spring/summer 2025 New York Fashion Week schedule may be small, but it’s chock full of surprises.

The week will officially kick off on Friday 6 September at 1pm with Area, which is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary. It’ll be a big day for the city, with Collina Strada and Willy Chavarria also holding shows on opening day. They’ll be joined by Pieter Mulier, who opted out of Alaïa’s usual off-calendar slot adjacent to the Paris couture season in favour of an off-calendar show in the Big Apple. The Belgian designer is no stranger to the city, having spent a few years here alongside Raf Simons during the Calvin Klein 205W39NYC era. Last month, he told Vogue, “New York has a very special significance to me. It’s the city of resilience. And resilience is the feeding ground for creativity. My time in New York has not only shaped my artistic vision, but has become an integral part of who I am. It’s where Alaïa’s story intersects with the heartbeat of the world. New York isn’t just a destination; it’s a homecoming, a celebration of the past, present, and future of Alaïa.”

Alaïa is not the only European brand jumping the Atlantic this season; Ib Kamara’s second outing as the official creative director for Off-White will take place on Sunday 8 September at noon, while Ronald van der Kemp will be showing his autumn/winter 2024 couture collection on Wednesday 11 September at 11am, and after a stop in Paris, Stockholm’s Elin Kling and Karl Lindman of Toteme will be holding their show on Tuesday 10 September at 10am. Campillo, the Mexican brand helmed by Patricio Campillo, who was recently named an LVMH Prize finalist, will also be holding its first fashion show in the city on Saturday 7 September at 9am.

Who Decides War is back on the official schedule, showing on Saturday 7 September at 1pm, as is Rio Sport, Rio Uribe’s newly-christened brand, which is showing on Wednesday 11 September at 1pm. The week will feature a large contingent of this year’s CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists – Kate Barton, Grace Ling, Jane Wade and Wiederhoeft are back on the schedule, while 5000’s Taylor Thompson, Sebastien Ami and Presley Oldham are making their debuts. Melitta Baumeister, the winner of last year’s CVFF will be closing NYFW with her first-ever fashion show taking place on the 11th at 5pm.

A few big designers are missing from the schedule this season, including Altuzarra, Helmut Lang, Gabriela Hearst, Fforme, Proenza Schouler and Ralph Lauren, but for the latter two, it is simply because they are holding shows before the official week kicks off. Proenza Schouler will stage an intimate presentation on Wednesday 4 September, while Ralph Lauren will be taking guests to the Hamptons on Thursday 5 September.

Ib Kamara On Its NYFW Debut

Off-White was created by the late Virgil Abloh, an Illinois-born visionary of Ghanaian descent. It is headquartered in Milan, and shows in Paris. All this makes it a brand that defies national categorisation, which is one part of its international appeal. However what seems almost remiss is that during nine years of operation there has never yet been an Off-White show in the United States. So this September, the brand will make its debut at New York Fashion Week.

“Bringing Off-White to New York has been on the cards for so long,” explained Ib Kamara on a call. Kamara was the long-standing stylist for Off-White, and worked alongside Abloh until the founder’s death in late 2021. Since then, he has taken up the mantle as the brand’s creative director. And he shared on the call that Abloh had originally planned to bring Off-White to New York at the beginning of 2022, a plan that was placed on hold after his passing.

“Now the time feels right to show up,” said Kamara: “It feels natural to grow and show where so much of the community around the brand is. I think it will be amazing and feel great for Off-White to show for the first time in the city.” Of New York, he added: “It’s common ground – a melting pot where everybody is equal.”

Coperni Will Close The S/S´25 Season At Disneyland Paris

A spray-on dress modelled by Bella Hadid, robotic dogs on the runway, sonic experiments inside the IRCAM in Paris: in recent years, Coperni’s Arnaud Vaillant and Sébastien Meyer have established their independent label as one of Paris Fashion Week’s must-see shows through their experiments with technology and their unusual choice of locations. But their spring/summer 2025 show promises to knock all their previous viral moments out of the water. Coperni will close the season at the iconic Disneyland Paris amusement park. This is the first time the park has hosted a fashion show in its 32-year history.

“The Disney team had approached us to work on a different project,” Vaillant recalled in their makeshift showroom in New York earlier this summer. “We met at our studio in Paris, and in the middle of the meeting, Sébastien was like, ‘Guys, we should have a show at the park,’ and they thought it was a good idea.” Of course, this wasn’t just a case of waving a magic wand around and saying “bibbidi-bobbidi-boo” and getting it done. “It’s a lot of approvals, as you can imagine. We spoke with so many different people from all their different teams, and finally, they said yes.”

Meyer and Vaillant won’t reveal all the tricks they have up their sleeves just yet, but production plans are apparently already underway. Naturally, we can expect some Disney princesses – and even villains – to influence the collection. “We’re going to play with the glamorous side and the youthful side, but we’re also bringing some tech elements; there is a big tech aspect at Disney as well,” Vaillant added, citing Disney’s legendary Imagineering research lab. “It’s so exciting.”

“It’s going to be such a beautiful moment. You know Disney touches everyone,” Vaillant added. “It’s going to be complicated, but it’s going to be worth it.” This season’s lucky guests – which will include the French duo’s bevy of cool It girls and boy fans, along with Mickey, Minnie and the rest of the gang – may even get to celebrate the end of fashion month atop a roller coaster, something that’s sure to put a smile on the face of even the most jaded fashion follower.

London’s Lightroom Exhibition Will Consider The History Of The Runway Show

Vogue: Inventing the Runway, an immersive new exhibition exploring the history of the modern runway show, will open this autumn at Lightroom in London. With the space’s astonishing four-story-tall walls as a backdrop, from 25 October visitors can experience and interact with era-defining runway presentations up close, and at an unprecedented scale. The exhibition’s production will combine animation, state-of-the-art sound design, and a score of classical and pop music to evoke the many iconic shows that have helped shape the cultural landscape.

“At Vogue, we’ve been lucky enough over the decades to see many incredible runway shows, which have often told the story of fashion as much as the clothes themselves,” says Anna Wintour, chief content officer, Condé Nast, and global editorial director, Vogue. “This Lightroom experience is a wonderful opportunity for a lot more people to experience first-hand the thrill of watching the history of fashion unfold right in front of them.”

Extending from the intimate couture salons of early 20th-century Europe to the mass-media extravaganzas of today, Inventing the Runway connects the past to the present and future of fashion, utilising Vogue’s extensive archive and contributor network to create an experience that unites the industry’s leading creative voices.

With a robust mix of participating fashion houses, including Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Chanel, Comme des Garçons, Dior, Iris Van Herpen, Marc Jacobs, Thom Browne and Yohji Yamamoto, the exhibition will examine how fashion shows became the ultimate statement of a designer’s vision.
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Valery Koshlyakov

Hidden away at 19 Rue de Varenne in Paris's chic 7th arrondissement, the Secret Gallery is a cutting-edge art and design space founded by Nathalie Elmaleh and Laurent Teboul. Both collectors and scenographers, they bring a fresh, innovative vision to the gallery. The main exhibition space hosts three meticulously curated thematic exhibitions annually, designed to evoke deep emotion. Artworks and design pieces are presented in settings that mimic a home, an artist's studio, or a collector's loft, creating an intimate, immersive experience.

¨Each exhibition invites visitors to dream, explore, and curate their own collection. The Secret Gallery shares its artistic sensibility, guiding art enthusiasts in acquiring pieces that reflect their individuality, within a captivating universe where art and design converge to create an unparalleled experience.¨ - Nathalie Elmaleh

The gallery features design pieces by renowned architect and designer Reda Amalou, showcasing collections inspired by 20th-century aesthetics. Celebrating materials like walnut, bronze, leather, glass, eggshell, and lacquer, each piece offers a luxurious, textured experience. In the art realm, the Secret Gallery presents a unique concept where 20th-century masters engage in a dialogue with cutting-edge contemporary artists. Exhibitions feature specially created works or selected pieces from existing collections, chosen for their emotional depth and personal expression, free from traditional constraints.

Famous artworks have permeated everyday urban environments, appearing on subway walls, in underground passages, and even on product packaging and advertisements. In these diverse settings, they acquire new meanings and functions. Simultaneously, collectors and the art market avidly pursue genuine pieces by renowned artists, showcasing modern society’s deep appreciation for original masterpieces. Uncovering an authentic piece today would be a discovery of monumental significance, eagerly awaited by the market, akin to the unearthing of a significant archaeological find.

Known for its intimate and innovative exhibitions that blend contemporary art and design, the Secret Gallery is currently hosting Valery Koshlyakov's groundbreaking work for the next few months. This collaboration perfectly aligns with the gallery's ethos of pushing artistic boundaries and creating immersive experiences. Koshlyakov's unique use of adhesive tape to recreate masterpieces mirrors the gallery's commitment to presenting art in unexpected ways, transforming traditional concepts into fresh, evocative forms. As Koshlyakov's works reinterpret iconic art within everyday urban contexts, the Secret Gallery offers the ideal venue for this dialogue between past and present, inviting visitors to explore the enduring power and relevance of classical art in a contemporary setting. This exhibition promises to captivate art enthusiasts, providing a rare opportunity to experience Koshlyakov's innovative approach within the gallery's distinctive, thought-provoking atmosphere.

In response to this fervor, artists propose projects that reproduce the great artworks we yearn for. In 1999, Valery Koshlyakov introduced his "applicative museums" during exhibitions in Russian museums, later expanding to Europe in 2002 at the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna and in 2004 at the Kunsthalle in Baden-Baden. In 2009, after participating in an exhibition at the Louvre, Koshlyakov was invited by museum curator Dimitri Salmon to the Jean-Auguste Ingres Museum. There, Koshlyakov created La Baigneuse de Valpinçon using scotch tape, demonstrating how modern reproductions can breathe new life into classical masterpieces.

Working with adhesive tape allows for quick reproduction of objects, enabling Valery Koshlyakov to create freely inspired copies of masterpieces and cultural symbols from painting, sculpture, and architecture. Contemporary art employs various methods and materials, and Koshlyakov's choice of adhesive tape—a non-traditional, everyday technical material—stands out. In an era brimming with possibilities, Koshlyakov deliberately selects this rough, shiny, and plastic medium, starkly contrasting the soft, nuanced textures of traditional painting.

Adhesive tape might initially seem a crude, anti-art statement. Instead of canvas, Koshlyakov "paints" with tape directly on walls or plastic surfaces. He layers broad strips of tape like a glaze or expressive brushstrokes, using the synthetic, limited palette to achieve a raw, brutal aesthetic. This approach doesn't aim to mock or desecrate classical painting but rather highlights its enduring power. Koshlyakov's work demonstrates that regardless of the medium, the essence of great art can maintain its grandeur and inspire hope, even in times of crisis. His technique underscores the timeless resilience of art, proving that its impact transcends the materials used to create it. The Valery Koshlyakov exhibition is currently running at the Secret Gallery until 20th July 2024, with walk-in´s and private viewings both welcomed.

Paris Couture Week - Autumn / Winter 2024

The imminent arrival of the Paris Olympics is the talk of Haute Couture Week, influencing this season’s collections in significant ways. At Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri drew inspiration from the classical silhouettes of the event’s Ancient Greek origins. Thom Browne, on the other hand, infused his designs with elements of American sportswear, concluding his runway show with a unique medal ceremony. Instead of the Chaumet-designed medals of the actual games, models donned blazers embroidered in gold, silver, and bronze.

¨Adding to the prestigious atmosphere, four-time gold medalist Serena Williams occupied a prominent front-row seat, joining the usual array of high-profile guests who travel to Paris for these exclusive shows. Haute couture, a legally protected term, represents the pinnacle of French craftsmanship, featuring made-to-order gowns constructed entirely by hand for discerning private clients.¨ - Charles Daniel McDonald

Elsewhere during the week, the first Chanel show since the departure of creative director Virginie Viard took place yesterday, with a successor yet to be announced. Additionally, Nicolas di Felice of Courrèges presented a guest collection for Jean Paul Gaultier on Wednesday, following in the footsteps of previous guest designers such as Simone Rocha, Haider Ackermann, and Olivier Rousteing. The week was rounded out with shows from Armani Privé, Balenciaga, and Viktor & Rolf.

BALENCIAGA

Balenciaga’s latest couture collection was showcased in the historic salons on Avenue George V, recently renovated by current creative director Demna to evoke a sense of stepping back in time. “For me, it’s very important for it to feel like a special place… it is the same place where Cristóbal used to be... he would look out of the window and see the same trees,” Demna quoted last year. This season, Demna drew inspiration from the "streetwear, goth, skater, and metalhead subcultures," blending these influences with the grandeur of mid-century haute couture. “This couture collection is a tribute to subculture dress codes as important influences to my fashion vocabulary,” said the Georgian designer.

Demna reinterpreted Cristóbal Balenciaga’s iconic designs through his unique lens, presenting abundant, cocooning silhouettes crafted from denim, leather, and nylon. The final look, designed to disintegrate as it was worn, used over 47 meters of nylon. Everyday items were elevated, such as a sharply cut T-shirt made from black scuba satin, which Demna compared to Andy Warhol’s Campbell Soup series. The collection notes stated, “Demna is interested in not only object intrigue itself, but also the techniques used to elevate said object into an art form.”

Dramatic millinery, created in collaboration with artists Ni Hao and Alastair Gibson, recalled traditional couture headpieces but was constructed from unconventional materials like T-shirts set in resin or carbon fiber. The butterfly emerged as the collection’s symbol, featured on masks worn by models, representing transformation and fleeting beauty. “These creatures are beautiful and extraordinary – they are of a perfect design,” Demna remarked.

ARMANI PRIVÉ

Giorgio Armani's latest Privé collection was a quest for serenity, drawing inspiration from the lustrous surface of pearls. The Palais de Tokyo showspace featured a pearl-like runway, setting the tone for an evening of elegance. Armani's devoted celebrity muses, including Cate Blanchett, Eva Green, and Naomie Harris, looked on as the veteran designer showcased a collection focused on surface and texture.

The collection began with molten lamé tailoring and extraordinary beaded gowns, progressing to pieces entirely covered in shimmering crystals. Silhouettes clung closely to the body, exemplified by a series of black gowns in velvet or sequins that accentuated the waist—likely to captivate his famous fans. Playful flourishes, such as bouncing feathered headpieces, added a touch of whimsy. “Gentle and enchanting,” Mr. Armani described his collection, taking a beaming finale bow flanked by two of the models.

CHANEL

Chanel debuted its first collection since the departure of former creative director Virginie Viard with a show at the iconic Palais Garnier, the city's opera house. Instead of the grand constructed set pieces favored by Viard and her predecessor Karl Lagerfeld, the ornate atrium and sweeping marble staircase provided the elegant backdrop. This setting imbued the collection, designed by Chanel's in-house team known as the 'Fashion Creation Studio,' with a sense of realism, as if the models were casually strolling through the corridors after an evening at the opera.

Despite the more subdued setting, the collection featured the requisite drama for an haute couture show. Taffeta capes and frilled collars added a theatrical flair, while the season’s tweeds were lavishly embellished with jewelry-like adornments and feathers sprouting from sleeves and hems. References to opera and ballet—such as Le Train Bleu and Apollon Musagète, for which Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel designed costumes in the 1920s—were evident in tutu-like ruffles and bows adorning each model’s hair.

Even without a creative director, the show demonstrated the enduring strength of Chanel's house codes. As for who will next reinterpret these iconic elements, the fashion world continues to speculate.

DIOR

it was inevitable that the Paris Olympics would influence the season’s collections. The city is already being transformed by the games' architecture, with vast stands rising at Place de la Concorde and along the Seine’s bridges, though not without some grumbling from residents about traffic and the imminent QR codes that will restrict neighborhood travel during the games. Maria Grazia Chiuri was the first to explicitly reference the Olympics during haute couture week, drawing inspiration from the classical roots of the games in Ancient Greece. Her collection featured garments that draped toga-like on the body and referenced the 'peplos,' a garment made from a single piece of cloth folded at the waist. Chiuri noted that this silhouette had inspired Christian Dior himself, but she modernized it by using jersey fabric—typically associated with sportswear—instead of the traditional haute couture fabrics the house founder would have used.

Chiuri's reference point was the 1924 Olympics, also held in Paris, when women were still fighting to compete. New fabrics like jersey, first utilized by Coco Chanel in 1916 due to wartime fabric shortages, signaled a mood of liberation in women's clothing. This was a fitting reference for Chiuri, a feminist designer who has long opposed the notion that couture must constrain the body. Her collection exuded effortless and airy elegance, undoubtedly appealing to the house’s clients amid Paris’ sweltering heat. “This collection represents an extraordinary opportunity to combine couture and sportswear with classicism, rebellion, collective energy, and, above all, the political value of the female body,” Chiuri stated in the collection notes. “It allows me to assert the power of haute couture actions, imagining the elegance of a woman who is both delicate and strong. A woman who performs just as well as a man.”

THOM BROWNE

Last year, as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of his eponymous brand, American designer Thom Browne staged his first-ever haute couture show in Paris. His sophomore couture collection at Paris’ Musée des Arts Décoratifs showcased a designer already mastering the medium, blending imaginative runway presentations with extraordinary feats of embellishment and craftsmanship. The show opened with male models clad in white Thom Browne skirt suits playing a game of tug-of-war, echoing the Olympic inspiration seen at Dior.

For this collection, Browne reimagined and deconstructed classic American sportswear—such as the tailored sportscoat, swim trunk, and pleated tennis skirt—crafted primarily from white muslin, a nod to toiles, the draft versions of garments typically made from this fabric. Guests were even instructed to dress in muslin coats, which doubled as the collection’s invitations. Browne’s creative flair was evident in the playful layering, cinching, and corseting of these archetypal garments, adorned with sweeping embroidery and embellishment.

In true couture fashion, the show concluded with Anna Cleveland as the bride, her gown blossoming into a vast array of white flowers along its back, each painstakingly crafted from fabric. The final scene resembled a medal ceremony, with three models in gold, silver, and bronze embroidered jackets standing on a podium for the show’s final tableau. “Couture is the Olympics of fashion,” remarked the designer.

SCHIAPARELLI

Daniel Roseberry hosted his latest couture show in the basement of the stately Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, a departure from the ornate, gilded salons where many runway shows from Valentino to Maison Margiela have taken place. The dimly lit space, illuminated only by a series of chandeliers, set the stage for Roseberry's collection titled "The Phoenix." This theme was inspired by a coq-feathered stole worn by house founder Elsa Schiaparelli to the opening of the Ambassadeurs restaurant in Paris in 1941. Hand-painted by artist Jean Dunand and inspired by Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova, the stole symbolized for Roseberry a vision of Schiaparelli as a rising phoenix, a "magical creature whose power lay in her ceaseless ability to reinvent—not only herself but fashion, too."

Drawing on this idea of rebirth, Roseberry's collection embraced free association rather than tidy thematics, with each look designed to stand alone and evoke emotion. "People don’t buy Schiaparelli; they collect it," Roseberry noted, emphasizing the unique nature of each piece. The show began with his own vision of a phoenix: a model in a velvet cape adorned with trompe l’oeil feathered embroidery in three-dimensional chrome. Subsequent pieces explored silhouette, featuring blown-up tailoring and sinuous sheer gowns cinched at the waist with corsets. Enormous bows, millefeuilles of ruffles, and variations on the opera coat referenced midcentury haute couture, particularly the 1950s.

"Each gown, each bustier, each shoe, every piece of folded velvet feather, or triple organza spike, seeks to catch the eye and hold it," Roseberry explained. "This is what makes haute couture so special: it’s an expression of my vision for the maison today, one free from marketing and merchandising. But it’s also something else: a way for me to honor that relationship, one of the most intimate ones in the world—the one in which I give women the power to be reborn, again and again and again."

Paris Haute Couture Week showcased a rich tapestry of creativity and inspiration, with designers drawing from diverse sources to present their latest collections. Maria Grazia Chiuri at Dior looked to the classical roots of the Olympics, blending Ancient Greek silhouettes with modern fabrics. Thom Browne's collection at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs reimagined American sportswear through a couture lens, culminating in a whimsical medal ceremony. Chanel's show at Palais Garnier honored its heritage while awaiting a new creative director, and Giorgio Armani’s Privé collection sought serenity through pearl-inspired designs. Balenciaga, under Demna, melded subculture influences with mid-century haute couture in the brand’s historic salons. Finally, Daniel Roseberry’s collection for Schiaparelli, set in the basement of Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, evoked a sense of rebirth and transformation inspired by a storied past. Each show not only celebrated the enduring legacy of haute couture but also showcased the designers' ability to innovate and reinterpret tradition for the modern era.