T Magazine: Couture Week Fall 2019
Schiaparelli
The fall 2019 Paris Couture season kicked off with the debut of the American designer Daniel Roseberry at the house of Schiaparelli. Taking over from the previous creative director, Bertrand Guyon, Roseberry comes from 10 years at Thom Browne and shares his former boss’ eye for a striking mise-en-scène. The show opened with Roseberry seated at a desk at the center of the runway and sketching while models walked around him, recalling last December when Roseberry dreamed up the collection in his Manhattan studio. Elsa Schiaparelli’s trademark eccentricity and wit could be seen in the fanciful jewelry (a choker that resembled a snake curled around the neck) and surreal fringed embellishments on a blazer. The somber and restrained palette of the first few looks gave way to increasingly flamboyant creations like a sequined evening gown topped with a lime green mantilla embroidered with flowers, made in collaboration with the milliner Stephen Jones, and the finale dress made of white faille that was like a cumulus cloud encircling the model.
Iris van Herpen
“Omniverse,” a spherical, gently rotating kinetic wind sculpture by the American artist Anthony Howe, took center stage at Iris van Herpen’s couture show (aptly titled “Hypnosis”), which was a meditation on “nature’s tapestry, interweaving air, land and oceans,” the show notes said. There was a sensuous element to van Herpen’s creations: The luminous fabrics (glistening silk duchesse, an iridescent satin) undulated around the body, appearing at once elemental and futuristic. Van Herpen, who is known for her innovative designs that combine couture craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology, collaborated once again with the Canadian architect Philip Beesley on finely detailed laser-cut mesh structures that were interwoven into the fabrics of the collection and seemed to morph into new shapes as the models walked. Van Herpen’s fascination with technology and experimentation reached its apogee with the mechanized dress that closed the show: Made in collaboration with Howe over the course of four months, the piece had rotating wings constructed of steel and feathers that replicated the whirring blades of Howe’s sculpture.
Christian Dior
Maria Grazia Chiuri opened her Christian Dior couture show by posing a provocative question: “Are Clothes Modern?” Those words, a direct quotation of the title of the Austrian-American architect Bernard Rudofsky’s 1947 exhibition at MoMA, were printed across a simple white T-shirt worn by the first model and framed the show as an exploration of timeless fashion. What followed was a nearly all-black collection of sober tailoring and full-skirted ball gowns inspired in equal parts by Christian Dior’s love of architecture (in particular, caryatids, ancient Greek columns sculpted in female forms) and Chiuri’s own fond memories of childhood holidays in Puglia, Italy. Chiuri once again collaborated with one of her favorite artists, this time commissioning the seminal American collage artist Penny Slinger to create the scenography for the collection. Slinger transformed Dior’s former home at 30 Avenue Montaigne into a tribute to the elements — the rooms were decorated with her photographs of water, crystals, air and trees — and worked with Chiuri on the surreal closing look, a dollhouse replica of 30 Avenue Montaigne rendered in gold and worn as a dress.
Giambattista Valli eschewed the catwalk this season in favor of an intimate presentation held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Paris — all the better to examine the exquisite craftsmanship of his atelier up close. Fresh from designing Charlotte Casiraghi’s dress for her wedding in June, Valli provided plenty more dresses suitable for such a momentous occasion, from a blush pink column dress composed of thousands of silk roses to voluminous concoctions of frothy tulle. Valli’s maximalist approach came through most visibly though in embellished baby-doll dresses finished with gigantic bows, capes and flowing trains.
“Books are a hard-bound drug on which you can’t overdose,” said Karl Lagerfeld, the creative director of Chanel for 36 years before his death in February. This season, the Grand Palais — which was the scene of a moving memorial for Lagerfeld during Paris Men’s Fashion Week in June — was transformed into a grand circular library with thousands of books stacked floor to ceiling on three levels. It was a loving homage to both Mademoiselle Chanel’s library at her 31 Rue Cambon apartment and Lagerfeld, an avowed bibliophile who was once rumored to have more than 300,000 volumes in his Paris atelier. In keeping with the setting, there was a modest, nonchalant elegance to the haute couture debut of Virginie Viard, Lagerfeld’s former right hand and the newly appointed creative director of Chanel. The tweedy full-length coats, slouchy pajamas in pink feathered satin and elegant evening dresses in jewel tones showcased the softness and refined glamour she has introduced to the brand since inheriting the mantle this year.
Hollywood glamour has been a constant in Giorgio Armani’s life: Not only is he a beloved designer of red-carpet dresses, but he even costumed Richard Gere for the 1980 movie “American Gigolo.” The Armani Privé show held at the sun-dappled Petit Palais had plenty of Old Hollywood razzle-dazzle to wow his front row of celebrities, which included Nicole Kidman and Zendaya. There were sharply tailored jackets paired with satin pajama pants and dresses encrusted with pearls and crystals — and sometimes accessorized with marabou feather stoles. Elsewhere he played with transparencies, covering jackets, dresses and even trousers with sheer layers of tulle that created a fuzzy, soft-focus effect.
“Noblesse Radicale — majesty streaked with rebellion,” promised Clare Waight Keller in the notes that accompanied her latest couture show for Givenchy, held at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. With models sporting asymmetrical haircuts reminiscent of the ’80s synth-pop band A Flock of Seagulls and feathered hats by the British milliner Noel Stewart, Waight Keller conjured memories of punkish aristocrats like Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis and Helena Bonham Carter — women who were unapologetic about their idiosyncratic sense of style. Waight Keller continued her exploration of a wide variety of techniques — opulent tailoring for men, draping, fringing and ruching for women — and a range of materials (lace, feathers, organza) with a masterly lightness of touch. Among the standout looks was a majestic floor-length cape adorned with dégradé feathers aptly called “Le Grand Jardin.”
Pierpaolo Piccioli closed the Paris Couture season with a mesmerizingly beautiful collection for Valentino that received a standing ovation from the audience. Inside the drawing rooms of the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, Piccioli sent out a diverse cast of models — that mixed the legendary Lauren Hutton with a new generation of supermodels such as Gigi Hadid and Adut Akech — to a soundtrack of Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin. For Piccioli, the key to making couture relevant today is bringing a sense of inclusivity to his work. “My job as a designer is to reflect an idea of the times we live in,” he told T last year. Accordingly, the references for the show were wide-ranging, touching on everything from Italian Renaissance canvases to Irving Penn images to African and Asian tribal influences. For the finale, as the models gathered in the garden to form a joyfully colorful tableau, Piccioli did a lap of the runway with the artisans from the atelier. They embraced the brand’s founder, seated in the front row, in an emotional moment that brought many to tears.
The ancient ruins of the Colosseum in Rome at twilight — and a haunting, live soundtrack by the Italian composer Caterina Barbieri — created an impressive scene for Fendi’s couture show, titled “The Dawn of Romanity.” Karl Lagerfeld, the fashion house’s creative director, had chosen the venue before his death in February. Fifty-four looks were displayed in tribute to him, one for each year he worked at Fendi. The clothes designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi took their inspiration from the floors and ceilings of old palaces in Rome, transposing muted mosaics, marbled textures and geometric patterns onto coats and elegant evening dresses. The house is renowned for Lagerfeld’s experiments with fur; for this collection, the artisans demonstrated their own savoir-faire, stitching together different strips of fur to make a single garment, or pairing fur with tulle for a more ethereal effect.
