Each season of Paris Haute Couture week brings with it an experience of immersing oneself in fashion’s paradise, where designers let their imaginations run free, sending their most intricate masterpieces down the runway in opulent locations, and creating a surreal experience on and off the runway for their elite guests. We’re revelling in the nostalgia of the five most iconic moments from the past season of Haute Couture that we'll never forget.
By Aishwarya Tyagi
Unconventional Couture Bride
Chanel’s couture bride made the biggest statement of the season as she casually walked across Karl Lagerfeld’s art deco couture casino. 19-year-old Kendall Jenner looked effortlessly non-conventional in a crisp ivory double-breasted white coat, slim trousers and a veil shawl that floated behind her. The bride sans a wedding bouquet, with her black tipped manicure and hands in front of her in a bridal pose, ended the show by Lagerfeld’s side as his muses and friends tested their luck on the modern deco set in the Grand Palais - complete with staged roulette and blackjack tables.
Celebrate The Night Away
2015 was a big year for Giambattista Valli. Not only did the designer celebrate the 10th anniversary of his eponymous label with a grand Couture show with colossal ostrich feathered tulle skirts, but the visionary brand also marked the launch of M.A.C and Giambattista Valli's collaboration which has been in the making for a decade. The launch of the new lipstick line was celebrated with a star-studded party at the Palais Garnier opera house, which was bathing in floral projections for the "Flower Obsession" Ball.
Roman Holiday
Valentino took the fashion circuit on a mini vacation away from the hustle of Paris to its hometown in Rome. The occasion was to celebrate the opening of the brand’s largest store in the world, next to its headquarters and designers Ms. Chiuri and Mr. Piccioli held their autumn/winter couture show out in the open in the square just outside, the Piazza Mignanelli, building its own version of the Roman Forum. The spectacular show included bejewelled gowns, striking gold jewellery and Italian historic references peeking through an array of lace gladiator mini dresses, ponchos and capes with leather trimmings which were received with a standing ovation by their distinguished attendees including Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz, Tilda Swinton, Gwyneth Paltrow and the main man himself, Valentino Garavani.
Jean Paul Gaultier's Punk Rock Showstopper
Following in the footsteps of previous showstoppers like Madonna and Dita Von Teese for Jean Paul Gaultier's theatrical Couture show was supermodel Pat Cleveland's daughter Anna Cleveland who danced her way down the runway wearing a one of the brand's signature silhouette of elaborated flat-pack tulle dress made from an engraved deerskin exploding with fringe and glossy brocade.
Wearable Art
Viktor & Rolf's 'Wearable Art' collection was one that became a fashion's greatest debates on the give-and-take relationship between art and fashion. The Dutch designers had models walking the runway draped in cloth, as if it were canvas removed from gilded frames. Guests of the show could witness the designers in process of crushing, folding and fitting wall paintings onto the model's silhouette and sending them off to the runway. Another memorable aspect of the show was its artistic approach where Rijks Museum in the Netherlands collaborated with the designers to help them reproduce some of their most coveted oil paintings onto the pieces for the actual runway collection.
