Haute Couture Week Fall 2023 recently unfolded its spectacular craftsmanship in Paris. The city’s historic fashion houses mesmerized the spectators with their extraordinary feats of imagination and creativity. While established fashion titans graced the event with their magnificent presentations, a new generation of designers also emerged, pushing the boundaries of couture fashion. Here are our Top 5 picks from Paris Haute Couture Week!

Balenciaga

Demna Gvasalia reaffirmed his creative prowess with Balenciaga’s collection, an opulent comeback from the house’s subdued presence following a 2022 controversy. The 52nd couture presentation, held in Cristobal Balenciaga’s former salon, showcased a blend of craft reverence and traditional silhouettes over spectacle.

The collection featured oversized suits, distressed denim, vibrant shaggy dresses, and accessories like elbow-length sheer gloves, rigid scarves, and voluminous footwear. An armour-like metal dress concluded the presentation, signalling a commitment to couture.

The collection offered a subversive take on archival Balenciaga designs, trompe l’oeil hand-painted garments, and ended with dramatic eveningwear pieces like a paillette-stitched gown.

Thom Browne

In his Paris Couture Week debut, American designer Thom Browne unveiled a theatrical Fall/Winter 2023 collection, staged in Opéra Garnier’s grey-hued, sports-inspired aesthetics. Browne transformed the venue into a surreal spectacle, featuring 2000 cut-out audience members in his signature grey uniform and real attendees on stage, all accompanied by Visage’s “Fade to Grey”.

The collection accentuated silhouette and movement through a parade of grey suits and coats, manipulated into exaggerated a-lines and adorned with texture-rich elements like patchwork checks, sequined stripes, feathered bodysuits, and 3D clouds. Maritime symbols embellished the collection, complemented by tortoiseshell platform heels and oversized Thom Browne bags.

The show transitioned into a darker narrative, introducing eccentric characters dressed as bells, pigeon people, and Edwardian figures. Browne described the narrative as a story of redemption and triumph, reflecting his personal fashion journey.

Schiaparelli

Daniel Roseberry’s recent show for Schiaparelli at Paris Couture Week was a vibrant fusion of art and fashion, reflecting diverse styles from traditional corsetry to avant-garde painted designs. The collection paid homage to Schiaparelli’s artistic roots, drawing inspiration from artists across time, including Elsa Schiaparelli’s contemporaries and modern creatives.

The 30-look collection, modelled by industry heavyweights and observed by high-profile attendees, presented daring art-themed designs like the International Klein Blue ensemble, inspired by French artist Yves Klein. Surrealist elements, opulent gold work, hand-painted brushstrokes, and broken mirror patterns coalesced into wearable art pieces echoing the audacity of artists like Lucian Freud, Salvador Dali, and Henri Matisse.

The collection ventured into jewellery, featuring designs reminiscent of Alberto Giacometti’s sculptures and Claude Lalanne’s forms. Innovations continued with the revamp of the Schiap bag and the introduction of minimalist toe and keyhole shoes. Despite the collection’s provocative elements, Roseberry’s designs remained accessible and allowed for individualized styling.

Viktor & Rolf

Viktor & Rolf celebrated their 30-year milestone with a couture show reflecting their signature blend of surreal humour and fashion. Straying from the predictable celebratory grandeur, their ‘Embodiment’ collection pivoted to magnify “the tiniest garment” – the bathing suit.

Bathing suits were dissected, reassembled, and amplified with ruffles, bows, and typographic embellishments. The show’s striking elements featured headless mannequins in tailored black tuxedos attached to the models, a spectacle left “open to the imagination” according to the designers.

Maintaining their legacy of eccentricity, the collection embraced the brand’s iconic codes with exaggerated silhouettes, layered compositions, minimal baroque decorations, and a splash of surrealism.

The selection of crepe, satin duchesse, gazar, and organza in colours ranging from pale beige to dark brown, punctuated by neon pink, yellow, and turquoise, further enhanced the dramatic flair. The collection, though feminine and unapologetic, maintained a romantic but not overly sentimental tone.

Valentino

In Valentino’s couture show, set in the spectacular Chateau de Chantilly, creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli presented ‘Un Château‘. ‘Un Château’ explores the tension between the environment and individuals, creating an inclusive platform for haute couture’s reinterpretation. The collection reinterprets elitist associations of grand structures into a more inclusive narrative. Piccioli’s approach merges sophistication and street style by focusing on simplicity and humanity.

The collection offers haute couture jeans, white shirts, diaphanous white gowns, and sharply cut opera coats. Despite the simplicity, Piccioli’s signature glamour is present in grand accessories and detailing. However, elements of Piccioli’s known extravagance are also present, transforming everyday pieces into opulent creations.

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