2008 Woodie Awards
Haute couture hits the Paris runway as fashionistas ogle original designs
Kate Goodin
Issue date: 2/8/07 Section: Features
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For the fashion world, it's the most wonderful time of the year.
It's Fashion Week!
Well, the fall fashion show season recently commenced with New York Fashion Week. The season actually spans for about four glorious weeks. Even though the fashion weeks in New York, London, and Milan are held in the highest regard, there is one other week that trumps them all.
I am speaking, of course, about Couture Week, which occurred from January 22 to 25 in Paris. Couture Week is probably the single most important week in the fashion season. This is when the top designers like Christian Dior, Armani, and Chanel showcase their couture collections, not to be confused with prêt-a-porter, or ready-to-wear. The designs in the couture collections are not meant to be bought off a rack at Nordstrom; a couture show is a theatrical production of sorts. While the designs are certainly breathtaking to behold, they epitomize the designer's inspiration and forecast trends for the coming season. I think the words of Coco Chanel are most fitting to describe what Couture Week means, "Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. […] fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening." In other words, the couture shows represent the upcoming ideas in fashion, but through the eyes of the designer. This is truly what fashion is all about.
So what pearls of sartorial wisdom did this season's couture shows offer? Well, as difficult as it is to categorize these designers, I spotted a few recurring themes in the couture shows. First was color. I noticed the shows were either bursting with vibrant reds and sunny yellows, evident in the Christian Lacroix and Christian Dior shows or muted with stormy greys, lilacs, and blues à la Elie Saab and Givenchy or, in Jean Paul Gaultier's case, a mixture of both- but Gaultier can get away with pretty much anything. Gaultier was responsible for Madonna's infamous cone bra. A stark contrast to those colors was the creamy white and ivory in Valentino's collection. This just proves in fashion, anything goes.
It's Fashion Week!
Well, the fall fashion show season recently commenced with New York Fashion Week. The season actually spans for about four glorious weeks. Even though the fashion weeks in New York, London, and Milan are held in the highest regard, there is one other week that trumps them all.
I am speaking, of course, about Couture Week, which occurred from January 22 to 25 in Paris. Couture Week is probably the single most important week in the fashion season. This is when the top designers like Christian Dior, Armani, and Chanel showcase their couture collections, not to be confused with prêt-a-porter, or ready-to-wear. The designs in the couture collections are not meant to be bought off a rack at Nordstrom; a couture show is a theatrical production of sorts. While the designs are certainly breathtaking to behold, they epitomize the designer's inspiration and forecast trends for the coming season. I think the words of Coco Chanel are most fitting to describe what Couture Week means, "Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. […] fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening." In other words, the couture shows represent the upcoming ideas in fashion, but through the eyes of the designer. This is truly what fashion is all about.
So what pearls of sartorial wisdom did this season's couture shows offer? Well, as difficult as it is to categorize these designers, I spotted a few recurring themes in the couture shows. First was color. I noticed the shows were either bursting with vibrant reds and sunny yellows, evident in the Christian Lacroix and Christian Dior shows or muted with stormy greys, lilacs, and blues à la Elie Saab and Givenchy or, in Jean Paul Gaultier's case, a mixture of both- but Gaultier can get away with pretty much anything. Gaultier was responsible for Madonna's infamous cone bra. A stark contrast to those colors was the creamy white and ivory in Valentino's collection. This just proves in fashion, anything goes.
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