If you love fashion, couture is the ultimate delight! Creative minds have free rein to play with their imagination going beyond the usual financial constraints. The most exquisite fabrics and craftsmanship is at their disposal to please the most savvy and demanding clients.
The pressure to perform is obviously very high and some fall back into the safety of past success stories, much like buyers who revamp best sellers to stay on top of profit margins. Others are brave enough to push ahead, and even though there’s a distinct individual mark, the collection feels different.
This is the case of Maria Grazia Chiuri, who once again managed to put Christian Dior at the forefront of couture shows. Her comprehensive approach is not limited to a brilliant collection, inspired by the magic of Tarot cards, but she also presented a mesmerising film directed by Matteo Garrone.
It has an interesting storyline about the ability to face oneself, our demons and come to a place of acceptance of our darker corners. A profound message for the times we’re living, loving oneself is the beginning of a journey that inevitably extends to loving others, and ultimately leads to dying in a peaceful state of mind.
Contemplation is important when uncertainty about the future is so vividly present. At the same time, there’s a growing appetite for life. Both Valentino and Giorgio Armani presented their couture collections inside beautiful Italian palazzos, as if signalling a time to dress up may be on the horizon…
There was definitely a sense of celebration of life at Chanel, evoking the joy of social gatherings during spring, and Kim Jones’ first collection for Fendi was poetic with long feminine trails, while gathering familiar faces on the catwalk.
Iris van Herpen has also presented a strong collection and it was really inspiring to see the evolution of Rahul Mishra. Digital presentations are an important medium to communicate both brand identity and the energy of a particular collection, but let’s not forget catwalk style photos are still needed to illustrate magazine features, blogs and social media feeds.
This gallery is a selection of my favourite dresses for the red carpet. Let’s hope there will be opportunities for these dresses to get the attention they deserve, on film premieres across the world, sometime soon!
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