FREAKS AND FANTASIES

Pumped with a fat dose of makebelieve so we may all enjoy a little distraction from the horrors-thatbe, haute couture is, once again, escapism of the highest artistic merit

- NIDA NAEEM

Beautiful and sexy are probably not the first two words I would usually use to describe a season of couture shows, but here I am. Beautiful in a slightly haunted way, and sexy in a slightly sad way, though. Couture has always been a delicate dance of contradictions, but this dance was brought to a peak at Paris Haute Couture Week Spring 2024.

For Maison Margiela Artisanal, John Galliano superimposed romantic Edwardian silhouettes against the grit and grime of late 19th-century Paris in the after-hours. Moved to tears by the storytelling, scenography, and dressmaking techniques, the fashion fraternity was quick to proclaim that this show will go down in history. Daniel Roseberry was horsin' around on Mars, drawing on the stories of Elsa Schiaparelli's astronomer uncle and the film Alien, while breaking it up with nods towards his Texan roots. Robert Wun also referenced films he grew up with, creating a universe of pleats and proportions where tropes of the horror genre can be graceful, while Simone Rocha dove deep into Jean Paul Gaultier's archives to deliver a guest collection that put a cerebral yet youthful spin on JPG's codes of sex and subversion. Quirky formal wear was the main character at Valentino, and rendered in unexpected hues and volumes. Viktor & Rolf couldn't decide between elegant couture and punk sensibilities, so they did both, buoying the 'Scissorhands' collection with their signature humorous design language.

LADYLIKE LUSTRE