Christian Dior Fall 2020 Couture

There was no traffic jam on the rue de Varenne, no walk through the Rodin Museum, no scrum of street style photographers waiting in its Garden of Orpheus, and certainly no giant tent behind it. Le confinement made the staging of a Christian Dior haute couture show and the experiencing of its grand rituals impossible. Instead, last Friday, Maria Grazia Chiuri was booked solid with Zoom calls. “It’s our first couture presentation online, so it’s something very unusual,” she said.

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Chiuri enlisted her friend Matteo Garrone, the Italian filmmaker who directed last year’s Pinocchio, to create a short surrealist movie titled Le Mythe Dior. With no runway to design for, Chiuri’s concept for the season was Théâtre de la Mode. In 1945, amid the devastation of World War II and with materials in short supply, Paris designers created clothes for doll forms one-third the size of their human female counterparts. Miniature dresses and tailleurs by 60 French couturiers and their mannequins were displayed at the Louvre and the exhibition was such a marvel—the clothes and accessories were made with such exacting care, with functioning buttons and handbags filled with tiny wallets and powder compacts—it went on to tour the world, raising funds for French war survivors in the process.

During the Zoom preview, Chiuri’s creations were displayed in a prodigious trunk on mannequins, which is how Dior couture clients around the globe will engage with them. Like the “Théâtre de la Mode” wonders of 75 years ago, Chiuri’s scaled-down day looks and gowns were painstakingly made. They truly give the term petite mains new meaning, but she reported that the task this season brought her team and the Dior studio workers—all working from home and all connecting via phone call or video conference during the shutdown—a lot of joy. “The project was very positive,” she said. “Seeing the first prototype, there was a strong spirit of community.” Doll-size clothes are fairly irresistible, as Garrone’s fantasia aims to demonstrate—even a statue can’t resist their allure. But the rewards of satisfying work can’t be underestimated and the movie’s scenes of Dior artisans and seamstresses lovingly filmed working behind the scenes are equally compelling. Amidst the crushing unemployment of COVID-19 time, even more so.

Chiuri’s “muses” this season seem chosen with that notion in mind. On the call she name-checked the likes of Lee Miller, Dora Maar, and Jacqueline Lamba—20th-century women who are often remembered by history for their beauty or for their famous lovers and husbands, but in fact did important work of their own as artists. Chiuri’s own work for Dior is unmistakable, even at one-third size: The diaphanous gowns—in embroidered tulle, in pleated chiffon, in meticulously patch-worked pastel lace—are fairy tales come to life.

In Le Mythe Dior, couriers bring a trunk of shrunken clothes to the woods. In this fairy tale, the magic that transforms them into real garments is the couture atelier, and the nymphlike protagonists get to keep the dresses. Reality intrudes, though. The narrowness of the film’s cast illustrates that when it comes to fashion and the inclusiveness of intersectional feminism, there’s work yet to be done.

Source: Vogue

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ZIAD NAKAD Spring Summer 2018 Couture

"I am Demeter, revered by all, the power most useful for gods and men."

For his Spring Summer 2018 collection, Ziad Nakad decided to celebrate the "Goddess of Wheat" and "Mother of the Earth." Goddess who gathers the fruits of the earth and offers them to humanity; its cult is particularly flourishing in the countries where this wheat is found in abundance, in Sicily, in the region of Eleusis, in Crete, in Thrace and in the Peloponnese.

Like a bird flying over the harvests, perfectly free, crossing a colorful sky, resplendent and singularly geometric - the pale blue of the firmament mixes with the yellow and gold of the wheat, the green of the earth, the coral of the ocean and the  bronze trees at sunset. Wheat ears dot the dresses, a tribute to the most iconic representation of the goddess Demeter. Dress after dress, Ziad Nakad plays a subtle game that celebrates life in a precise mastered know-how and silk embroidered sublimated tulles.

Ziad Nakad created this collection for the strong woman, assumed, voluntary but also and especially generous. Inspired by one of the most favorable deities to humans, as a symbol of accomplishment and peace.

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Francesco Scognamiglio Fall 2017 Couture

“I wanted to concentrate more on couture’s real values: the personal relationship with my clients, who need privacy and attention; the unique creativity that goes into every outfit. Couture must remain the undiluted peak of craftsmanship,” Francesco Scognamiglio

Francesco Scognamiglio Fall 2017 Couture - see collection.

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MARIA ARISTIDOU Fall 2017 Couture

Once upon a time there was a story, an inspiration behind Maria Aristidou Autumn/Winter 2017- 2018 womenswear collection to tell ... "Belle âme - a beautiful soul."

A story of a woman that is united no matter the difficulties, the setbacks, the ups and downs, no matter the color, the religion, the beliefs, women can conquer the world. "Belle âme" is flooded with a playground of knit patterns, cozy wool's and metallic yarns. Elaborate embroideries create luxurious beaded fields in the designs, whereas, soft curves with unexpected details and sleek cuts, manifest the beauty and the elegance of this womenswear collection for day or night.

The power of Love, the Care, the Beauty and the Wisdom of a Woman is the rebirth of "a beautiful soul."

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Iris van Herpen Fall 2017 Couture

Iris van Herpen Fall 2017 Couture - see collection.

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EWA MINGE Couture Fall-Winter 2017-2018

Inspired by the ancient gypsy fables, Ewa Minge for her Couture collection fall-winter 2017/18 transports us into an enchanted, joyful and dancing world. Multi-colored and multi-layered silhouettes, numerous details and accessories evoke the rich and singing world of this culture. Embroideries and butterflies appear on many garments and were created by the "students" of the Black Butterflies Foundation as part of their art-therapy.

Indeed, under the eye of the designer for several months, women who fight against cancer have made "small works of art" from pearls. And as they say, these butterflies helped us to pass this difficult time during treatment and transported us to another wonderful world where everything is possible.

Art helps to keep the disease away; These women will be present in Paris to attend the parade and see their butterflies fly into the great capital. Ewa Minge wants as well to present a plus-size model because she creates for all women and believes that beauty does not have sizes.

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