Mirror mirror: designers reflect on Giacometti, Egypt and the East at Haute Couture S/S 2017
Creative debuts, 1930s inspired salons and dream-like secret gardens gave S/S 2017’s haute couture season in Paris the usual dose of drama and bedazzlement. From Maria Grazia Chiuri’s haute couture debut at Christian Dior, to Pierpaolo Piccioli’s own solo outing just days after his menswear showcase at Valentino, this was a season that looked to Egypt and the East for inspiration, celebrated the aesthetic heritage of its houses, and explored a plethora of art references, from Giacometti to Guy Bourdin.
Pictured, Chanel S/S 2017. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Christian Dior: Maria Grazia Chiuri imagined her education into the world of Christian Dior as a labyrinthine garden, and for her haute couture debut for the brand she constructed a Chickasaw plum maze in the gardens of the Musée Rodin. Soft woodland moss underfoot marked the hidden entrance to the show space which took three weeks to install, and was covered with 80,000 branches of ivy and 400,000 boxwood stems, created by the florist Eric Chauvin. It also boasted a sparkling two-tonne wishing-tree. Watch as Chiuri’s secret garden-inspired show set for Christian Dior grows into life. Courtesy of Christian Dior
Christian Dior: Chiuri’s botanical design was one of fairytale ethereality; models entered the space wearing crinoline insect and bird masks created by Stephen Jones, and lily of the valley garlands, the lucky flower that Monsieur Dior used to pin to his lapel. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Christian Dior: Chiuri’s predecessor Raf Simons also constructed huge floriculture-focused runway sets during his tenure, inspired my M Dior’s own fascination with flowers. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Christian Dior: Bar jackets were reimagined with hoods and peplums, and the superstitious nature of M Dior, which Chiuri celebrated in her S/S 2017 ready-to-wear debut, was revisited in hand-painted and embroidered astrological motif ball gowns, one of which took 1,700 hours of work to make. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Valentino: For his menswear A/W 2017 debut, Pierpaolo Piccioli looked to the punk iconography of British artist Jamie Reid, and for the inspiration behind his first haute couture collection, held in adjoining rooms at the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, the creative-director turned to the artworks in the Tiroche DeLeon collection. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Valentino: The 450-work-strong private art collection includes abstract and mixed-media pieces by the Asian artists Liu Wei, Zhang Huan and Gatot Pujiarto. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Valentino: The pink, blush and green hues in Liu Wei and Zhang Huan’s works, which hung on the walls of the salon, were echoed in the tones of dresses, one of which, in blush-pink chiffon, featured individually hand-stitched cascading ruffles, and took over 300 hours of work to make. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Valentino: A mixed media piece by Gatot Pujiarto complemented an oversized organza blouse and trousers embroidered with macramé flowers, with each look being presented against an original soundtrack composed by Alexandre Desplat. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Valentino: With a collection focused on purity in design, ivory and porcelain hues were constructed into crêpe plissé column dresses, capes and trousers. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Giorgio Armani Privé: From nude to lavender, Mr Armani’s haute couture collections often place focus on one colour, and the bright orange of S/S 2017’s haute couture show invite emphasised the Italian designer’s shade of choice for the season. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Giorgio Armani Privé: Bold monochrome looks included a boule-sleeved silk knit jacket and double-crochet dress, and an asymmetric sleeve plissé silk organza gown. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Giorgio Armani Privé: Then there were creations in a range of citrus shades, some with 1980s puffed sleeves and bubble-like peplums, flamenco ruffled crinoline capes and sequinned frog-clasp jackets. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Giorgio Armani Privé: Tangerine shades also came styled with less eye-popping black trousers, crystal ribboned tops and flounced skirts, worn by models that strutted the catwalk looking into compact mirrors and delving into clutch bags. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Giorgio Armani Privé: As Mr Armani took his final bow, a throng of front-rowers including Nicole Kidman rushed backstage, no doubt keen to view the red-carpet creations up close after her Oscar nomination. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Chanel: At the centre of the circular Chanel catwalk, a mirrored cylinder created kaleidoscopic reflections, and this effect was echoed in densely layered hand-stitched silver sequined gowns and a dove grey silk dress with raw-edged finishes, all designed to resemble broken fragments of mirror. Photography: Jason-Lloyd Evans
Chanel: Last season, Karl Lagerfeld (pictured with model Lily-Rose Depp) celebrated the skilled petites mains that work in the house’s four ateliers at 31 rue Cambon. For S/S 2017, he looked to the architecture of the legendary address, creating an art deco-inspired mirrored runway at the Grand Palais, inspired by the panelled mirrors that reflect the staircase leading up to its haute couture salons. Photography: Jason-Lloyd Evans
Chanel: Hip-accentuating tulip silhouettes took reference from the shape of Giacometti’s 1926 Spoon Woman, and iridescent hand-woven tweed suits featured cinching belts, developed to sit ultra-flat on the body. Photography: Jason-Lloyd Evans
Chanel: The culminating section of the show saw sparkling silvers, pastel pinks and greens. It included a trompe-l’œil effect dress, resembling a belted and high-waisted skirt and blouse, created in futuristic coated lace, and dresses with puffball marabou trims and accompanying boleros, created by the Chanel-owned feather and flower specialist Lemarié. Photography: Jason-Lloyd Evans
Jean Paul Gaultier: An exuberant blend of floral and mythological references and energetic 1980s opulence, Jean Paul Gaultier also opted for a mirrored catwalk to display his S/S 2017 haute couture collection. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Jean Paul Gaultier: Models walked, danced and even wheelbarrowed down the catwalk to a weather-themed soundtrack, featuring spoken forecasts, Walking in the Rain by Grace Jones and The Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Jean Paul Gaultier: Pinstripe tailoring and Grecian draped dresses in bright colours were presented alongside cascading skirts, sarongs and puff-sleeve blouses bearing tropical hibiscus and daisy prints, and photo-printed poppies and sunflowers. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Jean Paul Gaultier: Accessories came in bright tights and headscarves, presented alongside other mythological figurations. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Jean Paul Gaultier: A model/fertility goddess sported a sheer dress, embellished with golden sheaves of wheat and a golden corset, and the show closed with a winged Coco Rocha being rolled down the runway in a wheelbarrow. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Elie Saab: Lebanese designer Elie Saab looked to the golden era of Egypt in his S/S 2017 haute couture collection, channelling the glamorous starlets of Egyptian and Arab cinema in the 1940s and 60s. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Elie Saab: Inspired by a glinting gown worn by Faten Hamama in I Can’t Sleep, Saab worked in a blue, gold and ivory colour palette, designing opulent trouser suits and red-carpet dresses boasting sparkling embellishments, marabou trims and glinting embroidery, inspired by Arabic calligraphy. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Elie Saab: Ensembles were completed with chunky gold earrings and matching cuffs, that echoed the jewellery worn by stars like Leila Mourad and Mariam Fakhr Eddine. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Elie Saab: Models walked to a soundtrack that combined traditional Egyptian music with Frank Ocean’s White Ferrari in transparent tulle and mousseline creations, headscarves and oversized sunglasses. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Viktor & Rolf: For the last two seasons, designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren have explored the value of imaginative upcycling, designing their A/W 2016 haute couture collection using pieces from their own archive. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Viktor & Rolf: For their S/S 2017 haute couture collection, held at the Palais de Tokyo, the designers reworked vintage cocktail and eveningwear pieces into patchwork-like dresses and trouser ensembles, showcased against a backdrop of enormous vases holding bright and tropical flowers. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Viktor & Rolf: Inspired by Kintsugi, a principle in Japanese ceramics that places beauty in imperfection, it was a rare and creative concept to explore during a schedule focused on rigorous finesse. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Viktor & Rolf: Designs came adorned with voluminous tulle ruffles in bright and pastel shades, elegant draped accents, and even a neon pink popper-detail pocket. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Viktor & Rolf: Horsting and Snoeren highlighted the collaged elements of their designs, which included sequined roses, leopard print and floral jacquards with opulent gold thread edging. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Iris Van Herpen: For her A/W 2016 haute couture offering last season, Iris Van Herpen explored cymatics, the concept of making sound waves visible. Like Viktor & Rolf, the designer was preoccupied with the concept of imperfection for S/S 2017, looking at faults in between physical and digital systems. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Iris Van Herpen: Held at the Maison des Métallos, once a musical instrument factory, she created a dark runway set in collaboration with the Berlin based artist Esther Stocker, featuring white glitchy lines which hung above and projected from the catwalk. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Iris Van Herpen: Models walked between these gaps in almost amphibious black and white dresses, created from 3D hand-casted PU fabrics, painted using injection molding. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Iris Van Herpen: Working with long time collaborator and architect Philip Beesley, the designer also created expanding laser cut mylar fabrics, that quivered in the form of floor length dresses, worn with vertiginous copper plated heels.
Iris Van Herpen: For a designer preoccupied with the spaces in between forms, the collection marvelously filled the innovation-focused gap in the couture schedule. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Schiaparelli: Elsa Schiaparelli wore Japanese kimonos and Chinese hanfus at her hôtel particulier on Rue de Berri, which also featured Chinoiserie-inspired Aubusson tapestries hanging in its drawing room. For Bertrand Guyon’s fourth haute couture collection for the house, held at its Place Vendôme salon, he fused these Eastern influences, from a carpet-like densely tufted jacket with a dragon motif to hand painted Asian florals, with the surrealist codes of the house. Photography Jason Lloyd-Evans
Schiaparelli: Guyon made his most overt reference to Schiaparelli’s lobster print dress, created in collaboration with Salvadore Dalí and worn by Wallis Simpson in 1937, with an asymmetric crepe gown with lobster applique. Photography Jason Lloyd-Evans
Schiaparelli: This surrealist motif also featured as an embellished brooch pinned to a suit jacket, and as an intricately embroidered detail on the back of a ribbon detail kimono. Photography Jason Lloyd-Evans
Schiaparelli: Schiaparelli signatures, like locks, hands and birdcages, were found on pieces such as a shocking pink strapless dress and a silk bomber jacket. A jacket with delicate puffed sleeves featured the black and white panels that formed the facial profile of two women. Photography Jason Lloyd-Evans
Schiaparelli: A reference to Schiaparelli’s collaboration with Jean Cocteau, the colours were inspired by a Guy Bourdin photograph from 1970, which imagined women’s visages layered in caviar. Photography Jason Lloyd-Evans
Giambattista Valli: Giambattista Valli’s S/S 2017 haute couture show was held in an ornate suite of rooms at the National Archives, a location housing historic national documents. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Giambattista Valli: Models paced on a soft ivory carpet to a classical soundtrack created by Frédéric Sanchez, in a series of opening looks which included satin duchess silk cocktail dresses, trousers and tunics with printed and floral sequin embellishments. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Giambattista Valli: Botanical inspirations abounded, seen in embroideries and prints echoing Mughal flower studies, and as the show progressed, silhouettes increased in jaw-dropping volume in true Valli style. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Giambattista Valli: Puffed sleeve cocktail dresses with billowing mousseline trains and multi-frilled pastel pink mini dresses trailing silk faille fronds had an overtly 1980s flair. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Giambattista Valli: Volumes reached awe-inspiring proportions at the climax of the show, as models navigated the white doors of each salon in ice-cream hued creations, embroidered in glittering gold and featuring layers and layers of cascading silk tulle. They were pieces fit for any haute-couture archive. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci: Riccardo Tisci presents his haute couture collections for Givenchy at the climax of its seasonal menswear show, which for A/W 2017 explored his childhood notions of the American West. His men’s offering featured check and totem-pole prints, and this settler inspired aesthetic was also explored in his 13 haute couture creations.Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Givenchy S/S 2017 Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci: Modelled by Tisci’s regular muses, like Lea T and Mariacarla Boscono, silk chiffon prairie-style dresses in dark blues and red plaids were hand-smocked and embellished with dream-catcher like metal discs and crystals. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci: Eight mourning-style dresses were imagined in fabrics including delicate Chantilly lace, macramé fringing and ribbons of black rooster feathers. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci: Tisci’s A/W 2017 men’s collection included overcoats embellished with diamante floral buttons, and these shapes were echoed in a dress constructed from organza-covered metal rings, hand embellished with geometric patterns. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Ulyana Sergeenko: Preoccupied with narratives from her home country, the designer looked to Slavic folklore for her S/S 2017 haute couture collection, envisioning women that live in enchanted forests and castles. Photography: Leila Emine Lundsten
Ulyana Sergeenko: Capes and dresses featured wild-flower inspired embellishments in pond blue and mossy green, with the cups of bustiers constructed to resemble water lilies. Photography: Leila Emine Lundsten
Ulyana Sergeenko: While last season Sergeenko designed sunglasses with different coloured lenses inspired by the 1980s, for this outing she took inspiration from Russian bathing traditions, creating ovular sunglasses inspired by swimming goggles. Photography: Leila Emine Lundsten
Ulyana Sergeenko: More provocative flourishes, like red feather-detail gowns and twisting serpent belts, took inspiration from the seductive figures lensed by Helmut Newton and Steven Meisel. Photography: Leila Emine Lundsten