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CNN
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Designing for the 1%: Here's what happened at the Paris couture shows
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. 'There was something incredibly graceful and airy… like a fairy tale… coupled with very structured shoulders,' Caroline de Maigret, a model and longtime muse of the brand, told CNN after the show. 'It was a powerful yet graceful woman — and it was almost goth sometimes.' Designer Demna (who only goes by his first name) staged his final collection for Balenciaga, ahead of his departure for Gucci. To mark the end of his ten-year tenure at the house, a plethora of famous faces turned up to show their support. That included Naomi Watts, Nicole Kidman, Alexis Stone (channeling Morticia Addams, complete with 'Thing' on their shoulder), Patrick Schwarzenegger, Katy Perry, recently wedded Lauren Sánchez Bezos — even Demna's successor, Pierpaolo Piccioli. On the runway, Kim Kardashian appeared in a white silk gown inspired by the one worn by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1958 film 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,' and paired with earrings once owned by Taylor herself. Also walking the show was French actress Isabelle Huppert, a longtime ambassador of the brand. Inspired by the 'dress codes of 'La Bourgeoisie', as Demna stated in the show notes, the collection featured polka-dot coat dresses with exaggerated satin lapels; a sculpted black leather gown with an hourglass silhouette; and a houndstooth ensemble referencing founder Cristóbal Balenciaga's 1967 design, which was worn by his muse Danielle Slavik. Waxed floral prints — a nod to Demna's grandmother's tablecloths as well as his early work at Vetements, the edgy label he co-founded — reappeared in the form of a belted, floor-length skirt-suit. Italian fashion designer Giambattista Valli combined two milestones in one day: After being named Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres at a medal ceremony held at his headquarters, he presented his latest couture collection featuring voluminous sorbet dresses with intricately embroidered flowers and 'colors you want to smell and eat,' the designer told CNN during the presentation, which he opted for this season instead of a runway show. France's Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, was in attendance. Of the award, Valli said: 'It's an extraordinary recognition.' He added: 'It's beautiful to be honored by a country that is half my life — a country that gave me a volume to my voice, that taught me so much.'
Business of Fashion
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Business of Fashion
This Week: Paris Couture and Trump's Tariffs
Couture Comings and Goings What's Happening: This Paris couture week will be defined by designer comings and goings. Gucci-bound Demna is slated to stage his final show for Kering stablemate Balenciaga on Wednesday afternoon, followed by Glenn Martens' debut at OTB's Margiela that evening. Up First: The week will get its unofficial start on Sunday when Michael Rider makes his ready-to-wear debut for Celine. Dior and Chanel are taking a backseat this season (Dior is skipping couture, while Chanel will show another studio-signed collection) and Celine's decision to seize the moment was probably the right call. That said, succeeding Hedi Slimane, who more than doubled annual sales, was never going to be easy. Expect evolution, not revolution. Last Act: Demna's final show for Balenciaga is sure to be emotional. His decade-long tenure was nothing short of transformational: the designer turned Balenciaga into a global fashion sensation, more than quadrupling sales, with an unholy collision of goth-inflected streetwear and Balenciaga's couture codes, wrapped in post-internet marketing provocations. A couture finale is fitting: back in 2021, Demna's skilful revival of the house's couture line proved a masterstroke that rebalanced the brand after heavy marketing of sneakers and hoodies threatened to dilute its image. Does Balenciaga need another reset? With Demna headed to Gucci, ex-Valentino designer Pierpaolo Piccoli is waiting in the wings. ADVERTISEMENT Fashion Drama: The bar is high for Glenn Martens' debut at Margiela, where he succeeded star couturier John Galliano in January. Galliano produced some of the industry's most artistic, and viral, couture outings (even if there was little link between his shows and the brand's best-selling products). But Martens is no stranger to drama and provocation himself, and OTB is doubling down on the creative director to design Margiela as well as its flagship Diesel brand, while it shakes up the top creative ranks at its Jil Sander and Marni labels. Liberation Day 2: The Tariffing What's Happening: In April, President Donald Trump delayed 'reciprocal' tariffs on many countries for 90 days. On July 9, time's up. Art of the Deal: The Trump administration is simultaneously negotiating numerous bilateral agreements with nations targeted by his tariffs, including most of fashion's biggest manufacturing hubs. So far, just two deals have been signed: one with the UK in May, and a second with Vietnam last week. The latter came as a particular relief to the fashion industry, as Vietnam is behind only China in the amount of clothes, footwear and accessories it ships to the US. Vietnamese importers will pay a 20 percent duty, not the 46 percent threatened on April 2. Down to the Wire: That still leaves agreements to be reached with other countries that are central to fashion's global supply chain, including Cambodia (which faces a 49 percent tariff) and Bangladesh (37 percent). China has a temporary agreement to avoid tariffs as high as 145 percent, which expires in August. In other cases, it's slow going, particularly with large trading partners such as Japan that have greater negotiating power. Exploring Alternatives: The fashion industry isn't waiting to find out which countries sign more agreements, with brands using bonded warehouses to sidestep customs enforcement, altering designs to lower costs and, where necessary, raising prices (Rhode was the latest brand to break the news to customers last week that its popular lip tints would soon cost $2 more). The Trump administration has gotten wise to one common method used to evade duties; Vietnam agreed to a 40 percent duty on goods from other countries passing through its ports en route to the US. The Week Ahead wants to hear from you! Send tips, suggestions, complaints and compliments to
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Balenciaga, Maison Margiela Among Highlights of Provisional Paris Couture Schedule
PARIS — Demna's final haute couture collection for Balenciaga and Glenn Martens' debut for Maison Margiela will be among the highlights of a thinned-out Paris Couture Week, the provisional calendar released Monday by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode confirmed. As reported, Dior is sitting out the season following the arrival of Jonathan Anderson at the creative helm of womenswear. He succeeds Maria Grazia Chiuri, who showed 31 haute couture looks as part of her swansong cruise collection in Rome last week. More from WWD Rachel Brosnahan Gets Sculptural in Dior, Leslie Bibb Pops in Stella McCartney and More Looks From the 2025 Gotham TV Awards EXCLUSIVE: Sustainable Couture Label ArdAzAei Taps Ulrik Garde Due as CEO Kerry Washington Pairs Japanese-inspired Dior Look With Platform Sandals for Peabody Awards 2025 Jean Paul Gaultier is also taking a break after appointing Duran Lantink as creative director, switching from its strategy of seasonal guest designers. The Woolmark Prize winner is set to show his first ready-to-wear collection for the house in September and will make his couture debut next January. Also dropping off the calendar this season are Alexis Mabille, Julien Fournié, Gaurav Gupta, Maison Sara Chraibi and Miss Sohee. There will be 27 shows on the four-day fall couture schedule slated to run between July 7 and 10, with Schiaparelli kicking off proceedings on the Monday at 10 a.m. and Germanier closing the week at 5:30 p.m. on the Thursday. Balenciaga will stage its annual couture show on July 9 at midday, after which Demna will move to Gucci and hand the baton to Pierpaolo Piccioli, who was confirmed as the brand's new creative director last month. Meanwhile, Martens will inaugurate his tenure at Margiela with an Artisanal collection due to be unveiled on July 9 at 7:30 p.m. After presenting his first couture collection for Valentino in January, Alessandro Michele is sitting out this season. The Italian house announced in September that it planned to show couture once a year in Paris. Among those returning to the official calendar are Iris Van Herpen, who has also moved to an annual calendar for her couture collections; Robert Wun; ArdAzAei and Adeline André. Syrian-born, Dubai-based designer Rami Al Ali will be making his debut on the official calendar on July 10 at 2:30 p.m. Chanel, Giambattista Valli, Zuhair Murad and Stéphane Rolland will stick to their usual time slots. Chanel is showing its last collection designed by a studio team ahead of Matthieu Blazy's debut show as artistic director in October. Giorgio Armani Privé's two shows will take place at July 8 at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m., instead of 6 and 7 p.m. previously, while on July 9, Elie Saab has moved to 2:30 p.m. from 12:30 p.m., and Viktor & Rolf to 4 p.m. from 4:30 p.m. Juana Martin and Ashi Studio have moved up by two days and will now be showing on the Tuesday at 3:30 and 4:30 p.m., respectively. In another eagerly awaited debut, Michael Rider will present his debut collection for Celine on the eve of Paris Couture Week with a fashion show on July 6 at 2:30 p.m., as previously reported. It is not yet clear if the display will feature womenswear, menswear or both. Patou will show its spring 2026 women's ready-to-wear collection on the same day at 5 p.m. Best of WWD Bottega Veneta Through the Years Chanel's Ambassadors Over The Years Ranking Fashion's Longest-serving Creative Directors
