SHIFTING SCHEDULES: The last day of the upcoming Paris Couture Week just lightened up: WWD has learned that Fendi will sit out this season. “As part of a rescheduling of its shows, Fendi will not be present this year for haute couture in Paris,” the Roman house said in a statement, without elaborating. It is … Read more
How many wedding dresses have a file size? To our knowledge, only one, and Brazilian tax lawyer Mariana Pavani walked down the aisle on May 11 in the high-tech creation by Dutch couturier Iris van Herpen, a pioneer in 3D-printed garments whose first such design from 2010, a stiff creation reminiscent of overlapping shells, was … Read more
Back in the late ’80s, it was suggested to Jean Paul Gaultier that he capitalize on his soaring international fame and launch a perfume. “I prefer to make a record,” was his retort — and the backstory to his quirky, 1989 electro-pop album “How to Do That,” which introduced a new audience to his corsetry, … Read more
The birth of the house of Dior is the focus of the new Apple TV+ period drama “The New Look,” which focuses on how Christian Dior and his contemporaries navigated the horrors of World War II and resuscitated French haute couture. “Monsieur Christian Dior, the stout and startled-looking grand vizier of the high-fashion Paris dressmakers, … Read more
John Galliano’s spring 2024 Artisanal collection for Maison Margiela will surely be remembered in history books, collected by museums, pored over by design students — and possibly extinguish the quiet luxury juggernaut with the tsunami of powerful emotions and fashion thrills it unleashed. It was a theatrical tour de force akin to a Toulouse Lautrec … Read more
Robert Wun’s creative process is a little bit like journaling, he said backstage ahead of his second couture show in Paris, his surrealist creations on the runway a little peek into the workings of his mind. Horror movies, for one, are a big inspiration, informing moody surrealist silhouettes. “I love movies, and certain horror genres … Read more
Deepening her collaboration with the Paris Opera Ballet, Aelis creative director Sofia Crociani was given access to the costume archives and came away with new shapes and textiles to work with for her largely upcycled and eco-friendly collection. She worked the vintage items, mostly cotton crinolines and petticoats, that she used to create a more … Read more
There was nary a princess dress in sight, and no bride either. Zuhair Murad paid tribute to Phoenicia, the ancestor of modern-day Lebanon, and its seafaring heritage in a collection of powerful shoulders, straight lines, draped silhouettes and a shipwreck’s hull full of bling to rival the display on his front row. Chain upon chain … Read more
In collections past, Moroccan designer Sara Chraïbi had looked to the heavens for inspiration. This season, her third as a guest on the Paris calendar, her inspiration was more terrestrial. Moved by the earthquake that devastated parts of her homeland last September, her emotionally charged motifs referenced the torn earth in tones of brown, ochre, … Read more
Imane Ayissi paid tribute to ancestral wardrobes — and to the female form — with a celebration of draping and layering inspired by the wrapped cloth worn in many parts of Africa, exploring “the link between the body and the cloth,” he said. The Cameroon-born designer often juxtaposes traditional dress fabrics like satin and taffeta … Read more
