Designing for the 1%: Here’s what happened at the Paris couture shows
CNN
After a week’s pause following the men’s fashion shows, celebrities, editors and influencers were back in Paris to see bespoke collections from the likes of Chanel and Giambattista Valli.
After a week’s pause following the men’s fashion shows, celebrities, editors and influencers were back in Paris for Haute Couture — where bespoke collections are shown and eventually sold to the world’s wealthiest customers. The official fall 2025 schedule felt lighter than usual, with absences from major labels like Valentino (the brand only stages a couture show once a year) and Dior (whose new creative director, Jonathan Anderson, was only appointed a month ago). Many houses are also awaiting official runway debuts from their new designers in September — among these include Chanel, Gucci, Balenciaga, Loewe, and Bottega Veneta. However, there were some bright spots. Glenn Martens’ first outing as the creative director of Maison Margiela was a formidable debut. True to Margiela’s love for upcycling and reinvention, repurposed materials were given new life, including leather jackets distressed to a cracked, decaying finish. A bodycon dress was stitched from prints of moulding and wallpapers, with raw, fraying edges and paired with a papier-mâché–style mask. Several silhouettes were encased in rigid, transparent plastic shells, and veiled, sometimes with bejeweled faces. Chanel presented its last collection designed by its in-house studio, which has been responsible for the French luxury house’s designs following the departure of its creative director Virginie Viard in June 2024 and ahead of her successor Mathieu Blazy’s arrival (he will present his first collection this fall). Traditionally held under the glass nave of the Grand Palais, this season, guests were requested to enter through a side entrance into a quieter wing of the building. Here, the brand recreated founder Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s original couture salons, featuring plush cream carpeting, quilted seating, mirrored walls, and softly lit interiors. A golden wheat stalk and a name tag were placed on each seat — including one for Lorde, who was seated alongside Gracie Abrams, Naomi Campbell, and Caroline de Monaco. The collection drew from Coco Chanel’s lifelong affair with British culture — especially the Scottish Highlands, where she first discovered tweed during her decade-long romance with Hugh Grosvenor, the second Duke of Westminster. Standout looks included a chartreuse tweed blouson paired with a baby-blue satin draped skirt; a black satin halter-neck gown cinched with a utility belt complete with flap pockets; and a double-breasted tweed coat layered over a tiered pleated skirt trimmed with lace.
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