Haute Couture, that bastion of high fashion and opulence. The words alone evoke images of grand, sweeping gowns and classic glamour. Valentino, Chanel, Dior. Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor. There’s something fantastical about the world of ball gowns and movie stars. It seems so far removed from the everyday – the humdrum of casual wear. But couture today is going through something of a facelift. Where Cinderella-esque pumps and fairytale trains once ruled the runway, now trainers and short-short skirts are taking over. A shock for some, a talking point for most: when did couture go street?
With a legacy that stretches back to the 1700s, Haute Couture has long been synonymous with high society and the international elite. The French court at Versailles was the original playground of the stylishly influential and the fashions that walked its palatial halls were emulated across Europe. In a world before red carpets, royalty and rulers were the ones to watch. Today, our tastemakers have evolved and are more likely to be the women of the silver screen than of blue blood. But just as New Hollywood has usurped Old Hollywood, so couture has followed suit.
You might call it the Jennifer Lawrence effect. Since entering the mainstream following her 2011 Best Actress Oscar nomination for Winter’s Bone, she has become the darling of the industry and public alike. Her easy, relatable charm is indicative of an overall trend that sees the down-to-earth celebrated and the highly strung diva of yesteryear falling out of favour. As a face of Dior, Lawrence has proven that ‘girl next door’ still translates to the world of aspirational high fashion. Her awards ceremony ensembles generate enough column inches to rival those offered to Kate Middleton and images of her posing nonchalantly for photographers sends bloggers into meltdown. Even when falling up a flight of stairs (not an easy task) or tripping on a traffic cone, she manages to convey an unpretentious charm – and all in Dior Haute Couture. She’s the film star equivalent of Cara Delevingne, whose youthful spirit and informality seem to have taken over the runway. In her own way, she’s also reshaping the mood. Out with the stomp and pout, in with the ‘I imagine I could be friends with her if she weren’t a supermodel’. So in an age when the zeitgeist dictates that fresh is the way forward, it might be unreasonable to expect that Haute Couture stand still in all of its traditional but inert finery.
