Paris Haute Couture SS18

In the spirit of its legendary founder, Bertrand Guyon pushed the limits of fashion fantasy with his collection for Schiaparelli, staged at the atelier apartment that Elsa Schiaparelli occupied in the 1930s. It showcased cobweb lace gowns and nature-themed embroidery in homage to her 1938 Pagan Collection, which famously featured blossom, leaf, and even beetle embellishments. We were also reminded of her extraordinary vision by this pioneering young talent’s breathtakingly innovative “Crystal Tartan Dress.” Created from nylon yarn intertwined with crystalbeads, this gauzy fusion of translucent knitwear and 3D embroidery conjured an unexpected lightness of volume that appeared to defy gravity. 

Silver Shadow and Jet crystals boasting more than 2.4 million facets were used for the tartan effect. Another highlight was the sweeping, caped wedding gown in porcelain silk crêpe adorned with lilies and irises. Inspired by a Lesage embroidery swatch for a 1940 Schiaparelli collection, each bloom had been hand-sewn following the same technique, again by Lesage, using silver thread and 54,795 Swarovski Pearls. 

At the Grand Palais, Alexandre Vauthier channeled London’s Blitz Kids of the 1980s in a high-octane interpretation of the New Romantic silhouette. Volumes were huge, shoulders were super-sharp, and eyewear (Alain Mikli X Alexandre Vauthier) abandoned years of oversize shapes for a horizontal futurist frame last seen on Devo, the seventies synth-rockers. This was his twelfth season in collaboration with Swarovski, and he marked the occasion with embroidery by Lesage and over 350,000 crystals. They blazed from five fully crystallized looks in jewel shades of Jet, Red and Purple Velvet, as well as crystal-blitzed stilettos, belt buckles, brooches and veils, a crystal-embellished zebra print, and a leather jacket ornamented with crystal jewels. Bella Hadid brought the maison down for the finale: a voluminous petrol-blue belted jacket-cum-gown teamed with crystallized sunglasses and heels that featured giant crystal buckles.