
After the tragedy that Paris endured in 2015, many of the city’s designer residents began their couture journey close to home with collections that explored the ’French spirit’ and savoir-faire through a lens of quiet contemplation.
Upon the reveal, who didn’t want to pack their bags for Karl Lagerfeld’s tranquil Chanel oasis (pictured) or join Elie Saab’s passage to India? Bureau Betak’s mirrored prism at Dior quite literally refracted the sheer beauty of the Musée Rodin venue, while also offering a moment of reflection, as Bertrand Guyon sort to reconnect over the dinner table at Schiaparelli’s Surrealist feast.
This collective quest for peace was also stitched into the season’s purist obsession with white (from Viktor & Rolf’s Cubist sculptural confections to Valentino’s plissé gowns), along with a new, softer fluidity. Couture’s big gowns and starched tailoring was relaxed in favour of a more louche approach for S/S 2016, ranging from Dior’s slipping necklines to Jean Paul Gaultier’s pyjama suiting and Valentino’s kimono-sleeved robes. The mindful journey offered a silk road of visual escapism just as the Haute Couture shows should…
Photography: Olivier Saillant