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LUXE TREND 60
ATTENTION DEFICIT-HAUTE COUTURE 2023
What an electric city Paris is during Haute Couture Week in January! The menswear shows end just before Couture begins, and the city continues on the same high energy for another week.
At the entrance of Le Cheval Blanc Hotel, throngs of fans await the exit of influencers and stars invited to attend the shows. The scene repeats itself at every fashionable hotel on the Right Bank, with few exceptions. It's the influencers who, dressed by the designers, provide the first glimpse of fashion excitement on the streets of Paris.
The entire creative universe concentrates on Paris to lend a hand in this spectacle that contributes to Paris being the fashion capital. After the pandemic, Paris is the gravitational center of everything excellent and current.
There are high jewelry presentations, new patisserie confections that celebrate culinary experimentation, art exhibits at the Bourse, the art center of the Pinault collection, and everything that supports the world of Luxury.
There are high jewelry presentations, new patisserie confections that celebrate culinary experimentation, art exhibits at the Bourse, the art center of the Pinault collection, and everything that supports the world of Luxury.
Near the Place Vendôme, endless "bread lines" in front of Le Meurice to taste the latest chocolate chip cookie by Credric Groller, the pastry chef who is an Instagram influencer in his own right. High Tea at the Ritz is a sought-after reservation, several weeks in the waiting. And at the Georges V, the dining room is filled with American, Asian, and Arab visitors talking deals while snacking on tiny Spanish "gambas" — the smaller shrimp I have ever seen, almost as small as krill!
Then there is Haute Couture. Messengers zoom around delivering garment bags to the hotels where the fashion flock stays. It's an intricate game of logistics, executed as if masterminded by an air traffic controller. Loads of accessories, gifts, flowers, and more wardrobe pieces, all to orchestrate the all-powerful "exit" and appearance on the red carpet of a collection.
The power of the Influencers cannot be understated. While celebrity stylists carry their valuable cache, the influencers move the needle of Attention for social media and the press. And these days, it's all about commanding Attention.
How can you command your audience's Attention? Is it through a Roar? Like the one heard at Schiaparelli when the shows began? Or with an upside gown, like those shown by Viktor & Rolf? Are we continuing to seek the Attention of our world? We are all undernourished narcissists, reliably seduced by the promise of the next elixir of Attention.
Fashion is, above all, a Spectacle. A Spectacle that often relies on deception rather than substance. This season in Paris, the trick was less about creative inspiration and more about shock value.
SCHIAPARELLI
Dante's Inferno inspired Daniel Roseberry for his latest collection at Schiaparelli. Seeking high-art inspiration like several other designers at Couture, Mr. Roseberry relied on theatrics rather than good, old-fashioned technique. The show extended into audience participation, with Doja Cat enduring 5 hours of Pat McGrath's application of red crystals on her red-painted skin. This terrifying vision was outdone only by the fake — yet exquisitely lifelike — lion's head placed on a dress worn by Kylie Jenner.
Schiaparelli collections have become repetitious. A Schiaparelli retrospective at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs showed the true impact of Mme Schiaparelli as a designer. The creative collaborations, technique, and bold use of ornamentation rendered in the most delicate Couture techniques illustrated why she became a legend.
A 4th of the exhibit was dedicated to Mr. Roseberry. It was an unfortunate omission to not reference the work of other brand designers — such as Christian Lacroix and Bertrand Guyon. I guess it was a necessary tribute for a creative director who kept the Schiaparelli name in the press.
JEAN PAUL GAULTIER
When JPG retired and left his Haute Couture to other designers to interpret, nobody could have predicted the fun that exercise would generate. From Sacai to Olivier Rousteing, a chain of high-powered creativity culminated with the latest collection by Haider Ackermann.
Apart from a return to rigorous elegance, the real trend here was the angularity Mr. Ackermann infused into this collection. A testament to what a talented tailor and artisan can achieve given the right opportunity.
The clothes carried their volume level. It was what fashion needed to move in a new direction, away from the din of graphics and uncertainty of silhouette. There were flashes of Gianfranco Ferré in slim trousers, but primarily Pierre Cardin, where JPG himself learned the art of fine tailoring.
DIOR
Nobody can accuse Maria Grazia Chiuri of not knowing the Dior customer. Apart from the obligatory reference to a high-minded idea — in this case, the involvement of artist Mickalene Thomas to create the backdrop to the show, which featured images of 13 Black female performers, Josephine Baker, Diahann Carroll, Marpessa Dawn, Lena Horne, and Nina Simone.
The designer's collection drew inspiration from early 20th-century female entertainers like Josephine Baker. The careful styling, with well-judged proportions and combinations, made the entire collection feel current, classy, and entirely wearable. Not memorable, but modern.
VICTOR & ROLF
What can you say when a dress walks beside the model? What kind of fashion magician can conjure up this type of sorcery? How about a gown that lays sideways across the torso of the model?
It was Viktor & Rolf who put this show together to a fashion crowd full of open mouths who watched in disbelief as a show of elegant evening clothes in tulle morphed into this show of Couture-as-Spectacle of the highest order. For a fashion historian, this collection was a must-see.
Fashion is an integral element of how we tell stories. If some of this season's collections were the perpetrators (Giambattista Valli, oy!) or the crime (Valentino), we could always curl up with the inventive plot lines dreamed up by Haute Couture.