Haute Couture SS16: Craftsmanship
Craftsmanship, artistic visions and imagination came with the collections presented within the Haute Couture SS16 collections in Paris. Showcasing the audacity to look outwards, and the creativity to merge design, art and fashion into one heap of couture wonder, the creatives behind each collection meddled with structure, texture and their own unique inspirations.
We look back to the Haute Couture SS16 season and focus on some of the standout collections that exuded mastery in craftsmanship, innovation and artistic ability.
Atelier Versace
“I believe women can be powerful and achieve their dreams while also having great elegance and beauty,” said Donatella Versace. “This is a collection for all women who walk their own path.” The Atelier Versace SS16 collection was all about female power: women who aren’t afraid to exude confidence and share with the world their own sense of individuality. The collection was a celebration of the female form: elegant flowing gowns with caged cut-outs, some held together with knotted Swarovski ropes, revealing patches of the body underneath. The result of this collection saw the term “athlete-couture” come to life. Modeled by those including Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Behati Prinsloo, Lara Stone, and Gigi Hadid, the intricate, subtle craftsmanship melded together perfectly with the bold designs of Versace to create the message that women should feel comfortable and powerful with their bodies in any situation.
Christian Dior
The set of the Christian Dior show, a spectacle in itself, saw mirrors jaggedly lining gardens and interior of Museé Rodin. This reflected everything in its path form the sky to the ground, creating a surreal imagery for the show. This was also a Christian Dior Haute Couture show without an official head designer due to Raf Simons’ departure from Dior. Nevertheless, the design team headed by Serge Ruffieux and Lucie Meier carried on with the spirit of Christian Dior with their exploration of another way of constructing fashion. It was femininity in motion. Unexpected contrasts of texture and cuts, knits stretched like lace and embroidery featured through the collection. Reconstructed garments saw classic forms paired with modern twists, and detailed embroidery saw a lily of the valley scattered throughout in beads. Rings, earrings and cuffs featured throughout, representing the theme of superstition, as Christian Dior himself was noted as being a man of absolute faith in his lucky star.
Ralph & Russo
The pieces of Ralph & Russo were inherently feminine. Shapes and cuts drawing from aesthetic influences of the 1950s were prominent through billowing ball gowns, shapely and fitted shift dresses, peplum, and flowing shoulder and full-length capes. Dreamlike and weightless is an apt description for these delicate pieces crafted masterfully emblazoned with floral motifs, a nod to Chinese ancestral calligraphy, and reconciling a regal demeanour. Organza, crepe and satin were prominent throughout, as well as corset bustiers, fluid kimonos and feather boleros. A light and pastel colour palette emphasised this classic feminine aesthetic, yet elevating it to a regal standing.
Chanel
Karl Lagerfeld set out to celebrate nature in Chanel’s Haute Couture SS16 presentation, which seemed to remain true to its signature and world renowned, recognisable and lauded style. An ode to Gabrielle Chanel, the show’s palette emphasised neutral tones, beige, ecru, ivory, sand, dove, putty, taupe and mocha. Together with lightweight materials, Lagerfeld presented a springtime wardrobe in a wooden house in the middle of the garden of Paris’s Grand Palais, where unique natural femininity was represented through embroidery composed from fragments and wood shavings, bees embroidered onto tulle or mounted as costume jewellery. The ever-classic Chanel short tweed jacket featured prominently, along with oval sleeves and pencil skirts, chiffon worked into flat, lamé and organza twisted into regular pleats. Standout pieces included draping dresses with crocheted netting, studded with crystals, feather sleeves, and a diamond encrusted collar.
Maison Margiela
“The humble gesture of tearing paper” was the starting point for this show that saw Creative Director John Galliano carry on the great legacy of the house’s founder Martin Margiela. This gesture was materialised through the innovative and unique compositions of the show’s pieces. White safari style jackets and similarly utilitarian design featured throughout, each altered to fit a new mesh of beautiful and practical. The pieces then continued to evolve into complex reconstructions and deconstructions: oversized bomber jackets met with intertwined heavy gold and navy fabric knotted through. A focus on how fabrics are treated and finished saw neat, close-pleated triple georgette one minute, followed by exquisite jacquard with raw, violently ripped edges, followed by leather hole-punched into delicate mesh. Another standout piece saw a dress draped down the front of a model’s body, cinched with a belt and leaving her legs bare at the back.
Jean Paul Gaultier
Le Palace, France’s answer to New York’s Studio 54 was the home for Gaultier’s SS16 show, where he honoured his friend and muse, Parisian punk Queen Edwige Belmore who passed away in September 2015. Gaultier had met Belmore at Le Palace in the late 70s, and was taken by her physical and design aesthetic. In typical Gaultier style, the collection brought the dazzling theatre that we have come to expect from Gaultier. Velvet smoking jackets, belted robes, high-waisted trousers and suspenders, silky oversized suits, sequins and lace were staples in this collection – homage – to a cultural icon which represented the cultural currency of the late 70s and 80s.
Viktor&Rolf
Viktor&Rolf explored the notion of wearable art through their surreal union of sculpture and clothing. The white polo shirt was a focal point for the collection, but met with the cubist genre. These garments were fashion. They were art. They were sculptures. A recurring face motif featured throughout seeing garments adorned with oversized fabric faces, in many cases obscuring the models’ own. Viktor&Rolf played with height and width as the sculptures took on many exaggerated forms. All garments were expertly executed in fabric: a pristine white technical piqué with a magnified eyelet structure. Seemingly unfinished hems, primitive volumes and mismatched parts generate a spontaneous, thrown-together look.
As a new year begins so does a new era of fashion week. With the great creativity that has commenced in Paris for the Haute Couture SS16 showcase, the coming events will surely not falter in sharing with the fashion world how couture can be fun and foolish, but of course, entirely beautiful. Stay tuned for more in fashion.
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