![]() ![]() By this time, they were walking around Veilhan’s menagerie of mobile animal sculptures-a horse, lion, deer, buffalo, bird, fish, dog, and elephant-which had been trundled out to join the camel. They flipped along in their short, flared suits with the odd top hat and bow tie, shod in little white cross-laced boots with Chanel’s signature black-tipped toes. Hey presto! A playful idea that got Viard into the swing of a theme-a parade of something between cute Chanel drum majorettes, or perhaps, circus ringmasters. Virginie Viard held a tete-a-tete with the artist Xavier Veilhan to come up with a set idea for the spring couture show in said apartment and-you can picture it-they must’ve looked around and said to each other “let’s do the animals!” What swiftly comes up are photos of Chanel at home in the Rue Cambon, with a model of a camel on a side-table, large bronzes of deer clustered around her fireplace, and lion effigies here, there, and everywhere. We’ll see who’s ready to push it with Piccioli.What could a conceptual camel be doing at Chanel couture? This puzzle-the first sight to greet the audience as they walked in-can easily be solved by googling Coco Chanel’s apartment. Will Valentino bare breasts soon be worn in clubs and on red carpets? Even today, that seems a risky proposition. Only when it passed did you see how Piccioli had subverted the canon so that the white flounce garlanding the front of a stately white finale dress had left half of the torso naked. ![]() Strangely enough, it was the homages to Valentino Garavani’s classic draped ’80s couture gorgeousness that drew the eye most-giant ruffles in lavender or white frothing up around the face and over one shoulder, big fat bows placed on hips. Inter-gender inclusivity means that men’s suiting has taken up its own space in haute couture-they came in vibrant emerald green, yellow, electric blue some with coats bristling with metallic beaded embroidery.īeauty, he seemed to be saying, can be chosen, styled, and invented any which way with clothes. In 89 looks, Piccioli put forward individualism in tiny pelmet skirts or cutaway bodysuits implanted with giant bows worn with floor-trailing capes, a dress with cutout polkadot portholes, and white shirts and ties styled with micro-minis (one with a dramatic red sequin trench). ![]() What emerged from the darkness were pops of color (Valentino’s vastly popular Pink PP, claiming the night in ballgowns, coats, lycra tights), dark Parisian sexy black transparent lingerie dresses, and many varieties of strategic body-exposure. Still, haute couture formalities were observed in a way-Valentino’s creatures of the night weren’t presented as a wild crowd of dancers, but as models walking on a runway, haute couture standards of solemnity preserved. So it’s invitation to be free to be what you want ro be, mixed with the codes of Mr. Thinking of inclusivity as welcoming people for who they are, and who they want to be. “So I love the idea of a club, but it’s a club for today. “The difference was that then, it was behind closed doors. It’s kind of democratic in a way, in the idea of showing this freedom of being whoever you want to be.” It’s all about the feeling of having something for yourself. “Of course it’s about craft, and we talk about that all the time, but I also love it when couture feels effortless. “Of course, I love it that haute couture is about the magic of impossible challenges,” he began. In a preview, he explained how he thinks the principles of one-off dressing can be relevant to them. His point about standing for inclusivity-his passion-is definitely intended to be heard by the wider world of young people. A bridge too far for some who had been working at the shows, perhaps, but the crowd scene outside proved that there are thousands today who clamour to photograph and feel part of the scene around Valentino and what haute couture, and fashion in general, has to say. His venue, at night, was a famous Paris joint under the Pont Alexandre. This season, he took couture literally to the club. Pierpaolo Piccioli’s project with haute couture for the past few years has been to stretch the metier to say something that makes social points beyond the clothes. ![]()
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