Escapism at Paris Haute Couture Week
“Fashion is a playground for the imagination, and in your imagination, you can create for yourself the world that you want to live in." - Maria Grazia Chiuri
I am, once again, captivated by the craftsmanship, beauty, and intention coming off of runways - Paris Haute Couture Week is here! Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli and Maria Grazia Chiuri for Dior overwhelm me. It’s no wonder that I’ve become more aware and deeply curious about fashion as I get to witness their reign.
Both of these haute couture collections play on the idea of escaping from reality, escaping from the norm. Schiaparelli’s collection is not named after Icarus because there’s feathers or the sun, but rather, Roseberry is promising escape. By watching this show or wearing these pieces, you can escape - even if just for fifteen minutes. And, like Icarus, Roseberry is trying to go higher. Dior’s collection pulls inspiration from surrealist art and Alice in Wonderland. Chiuri presents a magical, illogical runway that pulls you from your own reality and puts you, well, down a rabbit hole.
Schiaparelli Presents Icarus
“I’m so tired of everyone constantly equating modernity with simplicity: can’t the new also be worked, be baroque, be extravagant? Has our fixation on what looks or feels modern become a limitation? Has it cost us our imagination?” Daniel Roseberry hooked me, right there. Yes. Let’s get baroque! Let’s get extravagant! That’s what haute couture is all about, and he’s the best of the best. Everything that Roseberry touches turns to gold.
In the show notes for Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2025, he gives us a peak into the rich inspiration behind this collection. There are classic references to Elsa Schiaparelli’s designs, and Roseberry describes how inspired he was by vintage ribbon he sourced from Lyon. “Toast” and “mink” colors run throughout this collection, and paired with exaggerated silhouettes, it makes you feel like you’ve travelled through time.
For Schiaparelli, the runway is just as star-studded as the front row. As top models like Mona Tougaard, Alex Consani, Maggie Maurer, and Kendall Jenner embodies the latest looks from Icarus, stars like Regina King, Kelly Rutherford, Gabrielle Union, and Philippine Leroy Beaulieu marvel from the audience. Thirty-three looks that are truly jaw-dropping.
I’m anxious to see where these pieces will debut in the wild. If I had to guess, I’d say there’s a pretty good chance we see Zoe Saldaña in something from this collection on an awards season carpet. Demi Moore is another house favorite, and her stylist is in Paris this week - but they tend to go for custom pieces. I would love to see Mikey Madison in Roseberry’s silhouettes, but, Chanel may have her in their clutches.
Dior Presents The Flowers We Grew
I’ve spent way too much time today digging into the themes of Dior’s Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2025…I’m blown away. When I watched the show, I’ll be honest, I was impressed but confused. Totally didn’t understand the collection without the context. You see stockings, lace, braids, flowers, petticoats, organza, corsets, butterflies, collars, ribbons, and mohawks and wonder, how in the world does this all tie together?
Like Roseberry was inspired by the mythology of Icarus, Maria Grazia Chiuri found inspiration in surrealism and Alice in Wonderland. You’re not going to see any blue dresses or any aprons, but the collection has a childlike whimsy to it, mixed with distortion and a punk edge. The Guardian described it as giving Alice a brat-era makeover. In the show, Chiuri says she wanted to evoke “total freedom, as if the mirrors that fill the couture studio could, similar to Alice’s looking glass, allow access to another reality.”
Do you feel that when you see this collection? Because I really do. There’s a lot going on, to be sure. The intricate mohawks are enough to process on their own, let alone the clothing. At times, you don’t know what you’re looking at. A gothic fairytale?
The collection sticks to a neutral color palette, which is in complete contrast to the backdrop of the runway. An installation of Rithika Merchant’s art lined the room, which was turned into textile panels by Karishma Swali. It’s nature, it’s female, it’s mythological, it’s dreamy. Merchant’s work is storytelling at its best, and I can’t wait for a behind-the-scenes peak at all the meaning behind these commissioned pieces.
As for house references, Chiuri reimagines the A-line shape, which was famously introduced to haute couture by Yves Saint Laurent when he designed for Dior. The Trapèze collection from Spring/Summer 1958 was all about the A-line, but these designs hid a corset and stiff understructure. The brilliance of Chiuri is that she references both the Trapèze silhouette and what’s underneath.
As you’re reading this, day two of Paris Haute Couture Week is in full swing. Chanel and Armani Privé are up next!
Until next time…xoxo!