Greek goddesses at Christian Dior, mermaids at Iris Van Herpen and fine-art inspiration at Schiaparelli: the fashion world brushed aside concerns about riots in France – with violence ebbing around Paris over the weekend – as Haute Couture Week launched in the city on Monday.
Indian designer Rahul Mishra also put on an opulent display, with dresses featuring tigers, orchids and artisans, which he called an homage to “the imagination and craftsmanship of embroiderers”. Mishra was one of several designers to include men among the models in his show – previously a rarity in haute couture.
Mishra said it was the first time he had done so at a Paris show: "They [the clothes] were not made with that intent, but when we came here, we fit them on to the boys and they looked amazing.”
Another designer to present his own unisex collection was Charles de Vilmorin, 26, the former artistic director of Rochas. “I'm super-happy to have lived through all this and to do my first show,” the Frenchman said.
Before a crowd including rapper Cardi B and Vogue editor Anna Wintour, Schiaparelli presented “a Surrealist's interpretation of a woman's essential closet”. One of the designs was created by hand-painting a woman's body in the style of artist Lucian Freud and then transferring it to a silk body stocking.
A cardigan and skirt made from broken mirror pieces was inspired by sculptor Jack Whitten, and there were nods to Sarah Lucas, Joan Miro and Salvador Dali.
Christian Dior followed with a show at the Rodin Museum inspired by classical-era statues. There were no frills or heels in the new collection, which was full of clean, vertical lines and subtle shades of white, black, beige, gold and silver.
But designer Maria Grazia Chiuri said “these clean lines hide remarkable complexity” and that it took a lot of work to keep Dior's famous New Look shapes while stripping away much of the complex constructions that underpin couture dresses.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands' star designer Iris Van Herpen presented an aquatic and futuristic collection to a crowd including singer Camila Cabello and actress Maisie Williams.
The transparent outfits included an iridescent blue pleated dress reminiscent of the fins of a fish, while many of the models evoked mermaids.
Van Herpen, whose designs are a fixture of red carpets and feature in Beyonce's Renaissance tour, will have an exhibition dedicated to her in Paris in November.
