With couture fashion week wrapping for the fall 2014 season, we can’t help but think of all the amazing looks shown on the Parisian runways this week.
From Valentino to Elie Saab to Chanel, fashion’s top labels presented super gorgeous gowns fit for royalty and A-list stars. Check out our roundup of our favorite amazing dresses from the runway.
Inspired by artwork created in Russia during its Soviet Union period, Ulyana Sergeenko presented part fairy-tale and part revolution for her fall-winter 2014 haute couture collection. “USSR was the never-tone-realized dream of the perfect world” her show notes read. While political ideology may never produce a utopian future, fashion can produce fantasy like no other industry. Sergeenko’s haute couture line delivers something modern, yet still evokes the dreamy etherealness one would expect from a couturier. The contrast of sculptural shapes in hard leather and metallics juxtaposes with luxurious lace, organza and satin duchesse gowns. Dreams and reality become one for the Sergeenko woman.
Valentino designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli were inspired by a Pre-Raphaelite art for the Italian brand’s fall-winter 2014 collection. While the theme may conjure to mind the dark image of Ophelia, what transpired on the Paris runway was light, airy and undeniably feminine. The demure restraint of the Valentino woman is apparent in the long-sleeve dresses and below-the-knee hemlines in transparent fabrics. Elegant draping and leather accents evoke a Roman goddess look for fall couture while embellished gowns become artworks of their own. Tying into the romantic theme, models showed off long, wavy tresses and nearly-nude faces for the romantic showing.
Inspired by Paris, the City of Light, Elie Saab presented a collection of grandeur and ethereality for his fall-winter 2014 haute couture show. The Elie Saab woman glitters, shines and reflects like the city itself in dazzling jewel-tones of sapphire blue, sapphire red and rosé. Lace, tulle and crystal embroideries; all signatures of the Lebanese designer are showcased while sumptuous fur collars and stoles add a Parisian flare to the delicately crafted gowns. The final section ends on a light note with diaphanous whites and silvers including sheer capes and princess skirts.
Red, white and black from a lacquer box. That is the theme of Armani Privé’s fall-winter 2014 haute couture collection presented in Paris yesterday. The outing started with clean and simple lines which included capes, tailored jackets and pencil skirts–the timeless tailoring Armani is known for. Later, came the luxuriousness one would expect from couture with lacquered, origami-like shapes adorning geometric-shaped jackets. Throughout, there is a faintly Japanese-inspired aesthetic that takes over with swing coats, ruched folds and cocoon-like coats. The finale goes back to traditional evening wear with a sense of drama in the shape of netted veils and lacquered gowns in scarlet red.
As with his last couture showing, Raf Simons served up an eclectic selection of looks for Dior’s fall 2014 haute couture runway presentation in Paris. The theme of this season focuses on taking historical designs throughout the decades (and centuries) and making them modern. The Belgian designer started off the show on a dramatic note with structured 18th century inspired gowns that cinch at the waist and then balloon out into full skirts at floor-lengths. Embroidered with emblems, the Dior woman is above approach in her princess couture. Elsewhere, models wore jumpsuits that can only be described as astronaut-like in their baggy shapes and utilitarian decorations. However, as the show progressed Simons’ idea of modern was taken down to earth with daytime dresses, long, sweeping mannish coats and tailored pants.
Paying homage to Le Corbusier, an influential architect from the 20th century, Chanel’s fall-winter 2014 haute couture show was a fusion of “more is more” luxury and understated demureness. This season, creative director Karl Lagerfeld focused on shape and structure with silhouettes nipped at the waist and full, A-line skirts As always, the Chanel woman likes her embellishments. Lace, tweed, beadwork, crystal embroideries all decorate the ensembles. Heavily so in some sections, while others like the finale were more minimalist and clean with all white looks save for decorated hemlines and tops.
Channeling the classic silhouette of fifties couture, the fall 2014 collection from Atelier Versace gave its own interpretation of ball gowns. While constructed bodices and tailoring were the main themes of the season, the collection’s sleek, body-con silhouettes and rounded shoulders gave a slightly eighties vibe. Models like Mariacarla Boscono and Stella Tennant (who appears in Versace’s fall ads) hit the catwalk with graphic eye makeup in blue and green shades for a bold statement, much like the clothes they were wearing. Embellishment is key to the Atelier Versace woman this season with everything from her spiked collar to double duchesse silk and even mink fur with crystal adornments.
Presenting his seventh haute couture collection, Italian designer Giambattista Valli traded in princess party chic for relaxed luxury with the fall 2014 season. One could imagine the Valli woman posing poolside in her striped daytime dresses, crisp white tops and a scarf–almost like a towel–wrapped around her head in full Old Hollywood glamour. However, it’s not all about days out sunbathing. Valli brings the drama and romance one comes to expect from couture season with flouncy skirts layered over tulle and embroidered with lace and flowers. Despite the retro motifs, fall brings a refreshing twist to the well-used theme with a finale of candy-colored ball gowns adorned with feathers and ruffles.
Fashion Gone Rogue
