The French Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode set up a platform devoted to presentations of the 2020/21 Autumn/Winter collections staged from 6 to 8 July. Also visible on the major social networks (Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Google), on TV channels, online via e-zines and shared through the fashion houses’ accounts!
From the long lockdown comes a cultured and intimate stylistic imagery with contemplative clothes born in the silence of the walls of the house or in deserted places where one takes refuge to think and design!
Due to the pandemic, there were not many live shows, but creativity called on digitally generated animated videos to help out, as well as short films, interviews, teasers and virtual models such as Hauli, the first customised avatar used by the designer brand Ralph & Russo.
Pure poetry: Christian Dior‘s short film, destined to become a classic of surrealist cinema. In a magical forest, nymphs, mermaids, fauns and mythological creatures are intrigued by extraordinary miniature sartorial creations, hidden inside a large chest, and fall madly in love with them. An imaginative storyline that reminds us of the importance of fantasy after gloomy periods and that thanks to the collection of Maria Grazia Chiuri is transformed into a beautiful dream!
Courtesy: FHCM
For Giambattista Valli the quest for beauty goes on, with a video tribute to Paris, divided into two parts: on the one hand, a world in movement, and on the other, a limbo suspended between Earth and Air, between light and shade. The collection alternates between tulle and plissé, coral feathers, crimps, crispy fabrics and flakes that become clothes in themselves!
Chanel focuses on tweed (the House’s signature fabric) but it enriches it with stones, sequins, rhinestones and beads, even transforming it into an evening dress. The collection, in stark contrast to the past, is complex and opulent, in honour of Karl Lagerfeld. Virginie Viard’s woman is a punk princess who comes out at dawn from the legendary Paris nightclub “Le Palace”, edgy and sophisticated!
Still in Paris, in a studio with cinematic lighting, was created the short film from the House of Stéphane Rolland featuring Spanish model and television presenter Nieves Àlvarez. Àlvarez, who presents the programme ‘Flash Moda’, interpreted the French designer’s classic-modernist collection, wearing truly interesting clothes and materials such as the long poncho-dress in rippled, ivory-coloured muslin or the cloak with a wool crepe dress and a maxi-transparent item in smoky embroidered PVC!
A boat ride on the Seine for Balmain who, alongside the creations of his portfolio, presents some ideas from the new collection with such leading models as Cindy Bruna, Feuza, and Joséphine Le Tutour!
Designer Iris Van Herpen shows a single dress, “Transmotion”, with an hourglass silhouette, fully pleated with a central element that calls to mind the branches of a tree, at the tips of which are small black stones that resemble seeds. A return to her origins and nature, increasingly important for this designer, who has decided to reduce quantity in favour of quality!
Nature is also in the limelight for Raoul Mishra, who, with his ‘Butterfly People’ collection reflects on the beauties of creation and the role of fashion in difficult times, turning attention to everyone who works in the industry.
Courtesy: FHCM
The aesthetics of the collection from Viktor & Rolf are heavily influenced by reality, with all three wardrobes expressing different moods: one the anxiety and sadness of what you have experienced (perfectly expressed in the heaviness and softness of a smoky grey chenille dress) one the confusion and mood swings (with emoticons and sculpted overcoats that seem to envelop and protect) and one that expresses love and hope in a heartfelt tribute!
Valentino closes out the calendar with the project ‘Of Grace and Light’ offering a preview of the live performance scheduled for 21st July in Rome. The video (shot by Nick Knight) shows a moving figure wrapped in a floating fabric, that twirls freely and elegantly, alive yet dreamlike, like all the creations of Haute Couture!
By Elisa Nascimbene for Valmont Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week
