The last two seasons of haute couture took place in a digital version due to the pandemic. A format that was not 100% convincing, as it seemed to almost contradict the principles of high fashion. Today, however, after this experience, we know that the dream can continue, whatever happens, and that from uncomfortable situations can rise new and more interesting admixtures, such as the one that has developed in the world of cinema. But now that we can start hoping for a return to normality, fashion shows are back to being hosted in the traditional, and perhaps the most effective, method to put the creations at the center of everything. Thus, some shows finally took place, albeit with a limited audience.
Giorgio Armani Privé focuses on lightness: the splendour of fabrics that look like liquids, on the brightness of grains and silks crossed by a thin metal wire. Long evening dresses seem to fly, and delicate blouses are moved by ruffles in crinoline thanks to their particular construction. The male pinstripes of the Armani style tell a surprising transformation, one that is feminine in its nature.
Chanel Haute Couture is inspired by the world of art for this new magical collection. To explain it is the creative director Virginie Viard: “I started from the works of Berthe Morisot, Marie Laurencin and Édouard Manet. There are impressionist-inspired dresses, skirts that look like paintings and a long white satin dress dotted with black bows like that of Morisot“.
Dior Haute Couture explains how returning to the “present” leads to a new focus on haptic materiality, which in the virtual era also means reinterpreting embroidery: it is no longer just decorative and ornamental, but the mix of different substances connected to the senses of sight and touch. The book Threads of Life by Clare Hunter, the textile artist and curator was fundamental to this collection and allowed the acquisition of a critical awareness for Maria Grazia Chiuri of the essential value of weaving and embroidery. This art, in particular, is so dear to her because it transmits her a memory of protection, hidden behind the gestures of care and protest.
The new collection by Schiaparelli is divided into three parts: the first pays homage to the Schiaparelli jackets of the past, the second focuses on the body and jewelry, while the third celebrates color: “For two years I said that I was not interested in nostalgia. This is the season where this feeling began to surface. I asked myself, again and again: what would happen if I combined a little Manet; a little Lacroix; a little ’80s; a little 1880; a little Matador; a little space alien; a little Ingres; a little glitter, a lot of color? Could I? And what would that look like? The answer is this, my fourth couture collection, “The Matador”: A collection that honors Elsa’s vision but is not a slave to it. If last season was focused on deconstruction, pushing beyond the boundaries of what couture is and trying to overturn all of its unspoken rules, this season I felt like a new freedom. That of doing something ferociously, undeniably, unequivocally beautiful – because sometimes you have to rebel against beauty to return to it” explained the creative director.
The time has come for everyone to go out, to live, and, above all, to dress ourselves as we wish. With a heavy past behind and an uncertain future, Giambattista Valli thinks of today and celebrates high fashion by playing with meters and meters of tulle, between flounces, ruffles and bows, to give life to the dream. The collection seems to explore two dimensions, one darker characterized by creations in black, and the other livelier that focuses on pastel tones and bright red.
Words By Tommaso Donati
