Jennifer Lopez in Schiaparelli, Rihanna in Dior: Haute Couture Week opened in Paris with a glamorous gallery of stars and glittering creations, AFP reports.
Not to be confused with Paris Fashion Week; Women's Haute Couture Week is held in January for summer and in July for winter, and only in Paris, as it is a French specialty protected by legal status.
It is a closed event where only the press and customers can attend the presentation of unique models, which must be handmade.
As is often the case, the front row steals the show from the catwalk.
At the Schiaparelli show, were actress Zendaya, singer Jennifer Lopez, and Carla Bruni. Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine, also watched the dazzling show.
The brand's biggest clients were seated in the front row, dressed in spectacular gowns.
The theme of the show, conceived by designer Daniel Roseberry, was "creatures from beyond."
The historic house, which only makes haute couture, once again pushed the boundaries of technology, creating a minidress made from fragments of hard drives, microprocessors and floppy disks.
But there was no eschewing the western aesthetic, decidedly in the style of the 2025 season, with an explosive fringed jacket amid velvet capes and gilding, a bow from the designer to his native Texas.
At the Rodin Museum, an installation by artist Isabella Ducrot for Dior covered the giant hall built by LVMH for the 13-minute show.
Maria Grazia Chiuri, director of Dior's women's lines, explained that for this semester she immersed herself in the thoughts of the philosopher of aesthetics Walter Benjamin, returning to the definition of a work of art.
Traditionally, haute couture is also a demonstration of "soft power" in the capital of fashion.
From an economic point of view, "with its highly selective clientele , haute couture not only stimulates transactions but also consolidates the French capital's position as a global centre of creativity," Pascal Morin, head of the French Haute Couture Federation, told the Fashion Network.
30 fashion houses are included in the official calendar of haute couture week, which will continue until January the 25th. /BGNES
