KO.FASHION BLOG

photographer Jean Picon

Paris, Haute Couture

Jean Paul Gaultier puts the liberated women in white cages - Armani Prive prefers them in loose trousers, Givenchy takes us on a journey to Peru - Christan Lacroix to Spain, Chanel pipes away architecture - Alessandra Facchinetti bows a new era for Valentino and Galliano shows us how he would really like to dress the first lady. Haute Couture is in an experimental process of change, travelling in-between new volumes, from modernity to past, but maintaining the fabrics and embroideries that gown dreams are made of.

Whoever thinks that the 4 days of Haute Couture shows is slowing down is wrong: The Pre-Collection invasion has reached Paris and so between two shows you find yourself running, and no doubt, "cruising" to Pret-a-Porter brands like Ungaro or Paule Ka!

The glamorous after parties reflected the new direction that Haute Couture is taking - soirees were not organised by members of the HC, but by all those who wanted to profit from the presence of the fashion scene. On the menu was the announcement of the Lanvin/Acne pact, a Lacoste/Visionnaire boat trip, Longchamps 70 years included a live performance by The Kills, and the Irfe 20's dresses come back.

The highlights

In times where Hadid and Herzog & de Meuron designs are built - some skyscrapers find their way into fashion. Lagerfeld attempts to reinvent architecture with his over dimensional pipes. Impressive as usual, the Chanel decoration in the Grand Palais played a perfect symphony with the grey organ-pipesque designs. Over the last few months, the Grand Palais gave Richard Serra's steel sculptures an opportunity for the public to experience the power of this incredible venue. Looking forwards, Karl Lagerfeld's creative energy and visual expression would play the perfect host to the next annual Monumenta project - just imagine how wonderful a spectacle it would be to show the Chanel carousel and those organ pipes to all the Parisian fashionistas.

Waspy waists, strong shoulders, knee length, and a completely different architectonic silhouette was built at Dior. The New Look 2008, made by Galliano, refers to Irving Penn and his wife Lisa Fonssagrives. Following strong black and white contrasting, Galliano displayed amazing pastel ball gowns with see-through bottoms. The final gown was pure emotion and drama - a sculptural piece of art in violet and black, it came to life with the invisible spiral wings that almost made Georgina Stojilkovic fall. The ball continued at Elie Saab, where the evening gowns gained a certain lightness, according to the Michelangelo inspiration. The designer, who frequently hears critiques about how he only thinks and designs'evening', gracefully and poignantly highlighted what HC is all about: Princess dresses that make us dream.

It is always a pleasure to visit someone at home. Anne Valerie Hash set the tone of her location creating a former restaurant from 1880. She explored her orchid inspiration with growing confidence and new experimental rigid fabrics, trying to keep up with the more "savoir faire" of more well established couture houses in her third HC season. After the show, Irina Lazareanu and Anne Valeire Hash made the most sympathetic finales of this Couture season, coming out hand in hand, smiling like two little girls. For those who dream of getting married in Irina's perfect white gown, the engagement between Anne Valerie Hash and HC became official.

Intimate yet mysterious, clean but creative, is the way the Maison Martin Margiela consistently presents its artisanal collection. At MMM the white doctor uniforms are no longer shocking, and the fact that the models are covered from head to toe in a black face covering bodysuit is perfectly acceptable, after all it is Margiela. Next to French Vogue's Emmanuel Alt in her zebra pants, you discover here unique dresses made out of discs, plastic bags and balloons.

The after parties...

After the very crowded first day of Haute Couture, in burning heat, the fashion crowd met the Paris art scene at the Richard Avedon exhibition.The Jeu de Paume knows from last year that a vernissage like Pierre & Gilles must have an even bigger success when scheduled according to the fashion calendar. Even though Avedon's fashion photographs were just a small part of the exhibition, there were all the major brands presented on the dusty catwalk next to Concorde and Tuilleries. I was not the only one wearing Chloe and having suffered in Louboutin's all day - some fashion editors went even higher on the last Barbara Bui's - such intelligent event organisation for all the heel lovers.The Lanvin/Acne party was just next door in the Hotel de Crillon - and here it was definitely better to show up early and wear some glamorous denim pieces. Alber Elbaz was in good company, and one night you had the impression of being in NY, where it is almost normal to bump into stars like Liv Tyler and Eva Mendes. For Celebrity spotting, the following evenings were a similar success: Lacoste played host to a boat party on the Seine, conveniently positioned next to the freshly blue sparkling Tour Eiffel, and the Master Karl Lagerfeld, who was not afraid of getting a little seasick. The hip factor was extremely high, picture: Santogold on the microphone, champagne en masse, jakuzzies to steam things up, and water pistols to cool down the ever so hot crowd. What else do you need?

The drama...

Happy End? If someone was looking for real drama during Haute Couture, the Woolmark Price on the very last day was the event to go. With nice side effects like an electricity breakdown and the big fall of a PR lady down the podium, thanks to her higher than high Lanvin shoes, no one could remember the actual winner, Qiu Hao. Well actually, everyone overheard the name, because without a microphone the announcement remained pretty quiet. Sonia Rykiel, queen of knits and patron of the event, was supposed to do the speech, but refused. Sitting at the bottom of the podium because her knees were hurting, nobody could see or hear her. All that did not keep the red-haired lady of style from wearing heels plus crutches. This year Sonia Rykiel celebrates 40 years, and before Colette closed for renovation, the store was full of sparkling Rykiel anniversary designs. But all this glamour and even the presence of Ikeline Stange and Diane Perret could not turn the evening into a success.

More depression was in the air at the Cirque d'Hiver. Once the place where fashion history was written, where Avedon took his famous photography with Dovima in Dior and the elephants. Due to a lack of financial means (the main sponsor died), Franck Sorbier only exposed some drawings paying homage to the glory, glamour and allure of women in the past. In an interview with Mr. Sorbier, you could feel a sense of his sadness. The Paris house has just received haute couture status in 2005, and surprised last season with a lively and powerful African inspired collection in the Cirque d'Hiver - A dramatic wind of change...

Coming to a more colourful and less dramatic fact: A label who was not on the Haute Couture calendar made its way on to all the major runways. Perhaps it was the eye catching shape or the big flower prints, whatever the reason, Balenciaga summer dresses were present on every Haute Couture day. Some invitees were so pleased to own it that they did not hesitate to wear the dress two days in a row. Now don't get me wrong, I love Balenciaga, but the same dress two days in a row, running between shows in the middle of of the Parisienne summer? Enough said. Maybe she had to manifest that it is really her in the Fall 2008 Balenciaga campaign? The oh so modest Charlotte Gainsbourg showed up in flower power Baleciaga at the Armani Prive show. By the way, entering Armani was pretty tough - it could give you the impression of a Sarkozy police state - all Trocadero and some metro exits were under police control and only the hectical waving of your Armani ticket could give you any chance of getting in.

The predictions...

The winner in terms of trends was - Lace. From Elie Saab to Bouddica, Dominique Siro to Givenchy, you could definitely say that lace was a reoccurring theme, looking out and making some skin visible. Jean Paul Gaultier passed an interesting message by using existing trends and making them haute couturesque - street style fluro colours and daim (denim?) leggings where big news on his catwalk - illustrating that Haute Couture is no longer a contradiction. Riccardo Tisci made a similar statement by mixing a leather biker jacket over a black Chantilly lace gown. Peu a peu he manages to mark his individual path and style at Givenchy. Lacroix played with shorter dresses and leather elements still within his Hispanic inspiration and heavy embroideries. At Valentino, capes were transformed into couture wear.

While the fashionistas could have a look on the Valentino Haute Couture retrospective in The Musee des ArtsDecoratives - The Here and Now caught up Alessandra Facchinetti. All eyes - even those sitting front row at Giorgio Armani - were on her and on the big question mark over her first Haute Couture collection. She tried to explore volumes and play with heavy embroideries, proof that she really was ready to take the haute couture adventure. Her fondness for bows was illustrated on her interpretation of the red Valentino, a gown covered with so many decorative bows that sitting in it would be near impossible. Her idea found a softer interpretation at Alexis Mabille; some smaller size bows were placed in the hair and on shoes giving a final touch to the collection. Mabille is such a rising star in the fashion industry that the absence of style.com editor in his last show caused a little drama. Another designer to keep to keep an eye on is Joseph Font - who made crystal studded stockings - such a colourful yet modern collection bringing the sun from Barcelona to a rainy HC day.

The HC week ended with an ecology and absolute zen attitude - "Luxurious Qing Pin" - luxurious poverty, Wuyong transformed the Palais Royal into a Tai Chi kind of dance performance leaving the HC with a manifest of ecological and ethnological concerns.

Let's see who takes inspiration and adopts them next season.

One thing's for sure, HC will be breaking the rules in the future. Whoever thought that the Haute Couture Week is not commercially flavoured will be surprised: buyers are everywhere trying to be faster than the concurrence. And if the Haute Couture does not sell, the next Cruise Collection most certainly will!

photographer René Gloor