Maison Margiela Spring 2016 Couture
Fashion is a mad, mad, absolutely mad world—and the real world outside has gone even more incredibly insane. So there was something cathartic about watching as bonkers a show as the one John Galliano put on for Maison Margiela’s Artisanal collection—a place where he can be free to channel nonsensicalness and throw fabric around to his heart’s content.
Valentino Fall 2015 Haute Couture
With the sun setting on the ocher walls of the Piazza Mignanelli, and locals hanging out of the windows to take it in just like they did when Valentino himself staged shows in this square, the setting was as perfect as it gets. And the clothes were absolutely the location's equal. A few people grumbled about the emphasis on black, but Chiuri and Piccioli had an answer for that. "Rome is just a little bit noir, a little sinister," Piccioli said. In any case, there was nothing plain about the black pieces, especially not when they were accompanied by Alessandro Gaggio's striking gold pendant necklaces.
Raf Simons Is Leaving Dior
Raf Simons is to part ways with Christian Dior, ending a fruitful three-and-a-half year collaboration that saw the fabled French house tilt in a more modernist direction.
Dior said the designer “reached this decision for personal reasons” and that the spring-summer 2016 collection he presented under a flower-festooned hillock in a courtyard of the Louvre on Oct. 2 was his last.
Leila Nda, Sofia Tesmenitskaya, Grace Simmons & Yana Van Ginneken by Fabrizio Ferri for Vogue Italia September 2015, ‘Valentino Haute Couture’
Dior Fall 2015 Haute Couture
Christian Dior Spring 2015 Couture
Ulyana Sergeenko Fall 2015 Couture
As sweet as that sounds, and aside from the occasional fur bonnets, it wasn't entirely innocent. It never is here. The apartment theme gave Sergeenko a reason to explore boudoir-ish pieces. A black silk dress wrapped closed like a peignoir and a floral jacquard pajama set came trimmed with a fur collar. Bad gal RiRi can wear the velvet fil coupe robe in her next video.
Valentino Fall 2015 Couture
Chanel Fall 2015 Couture
The casino was deserted, the roulette tables empty. The space vibrated with a spooky subsonic intensity. Kristen Stewart emerged tentatively, crossed to a table, took a seat. She was quickly followed by a platoon of Karl's muses: Geraldine Chaplin, Rinko Kikuchi, Rita Ora, Lara Stone, Vanessa Paradis, Stella Tennant, and, finally, Julianne Moore, each of them wearing an outfit Lagerfeld had specially designed to reflect the way he saw them, for them and them alone.
Atelier Versace Fall 2015 Couture
"There are two faces," Donatella Versace declared backstage. "We wanted to show the softer side of Versace."
Christian Dior Fall 2015 Couture
"Dior is always a fairy tale, no matter what I'm doing," Simons said with a knowing laugh, but today's show had a special through-the-looking-glass magic. It was those sleeves that did it.
Christian Dior Spring 2015 Haute Couture
Watch the Making of a 200-Hour Dior Couture Dress
Craftsmanship is the heart of couture, so Visionaire and Refinery29 visited the Dior atelier in Paris to see just how those pieces were made. The short story: It took several hands, an inventive pleating technique, lots of heat, and more than 200 hours.
How Frédéric Tcheng Made the Fashion Documentary of the Decade - ‘Dior and I’
The moment Raf Simons cries isn’t even the best part of Frédéric Tcheng’s documentary Dior and I. Neither is Simons’ triumphant bow at the Fall 2012 Haute Couture show or the suspenseful moment when it seems no couture dresses will arrive at a fitting. The best part is more unexpected, even than tears. It’s that somehow two creative souls so alike, faced with such a similar dilemma, could meet and work together to make such a well-crafted project. It’s not that Frédéric Tcheng “gets” what Raf Simons is going through when Simons takes over the house of Dior eight weeks before the couture show, it’s that Tcheng’s filmmaking style is so empathetic that he lived the process himself.
Jean Paul Gaultier Spring 2015 Haute Couture
The crowd was the rowdiest of couture week—this or any other. They cheered for even the silliest of looks—Lindsey Wixson's tutu overalls with beekeeper's hat takes that prize—and tossed the anemones left on each seat at Gaultier's favorite models from times gone by as they came down the elevated runway in their alterna-bride attire. Clothing-wise, we've seen much of this before, but Gaultier's shows are one of the last places in fashion where we're encouraged to have fun. For the time being, that's enough to keep everyone coming back.
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