Images: Imaxtree
Despite its record-breaking heat wave, Paris was the place to be this week. Thanks to Paris Fashion Week Fall 2019 Haute Couture, the industry elite came together in the City of Light taking in the designs of Maria Grazia Chiuri, Alexandre Vauthier, John Galliano and Clare Waight Keller.
The highlights? Ralph Rucci kicked things off by returning to the calendar after a 15-year hiatus with his “new” label RR331. And Valentino surprised everyone by enlisting Lauren Hutton to take a turn on its haute couture catwalk.
All the while, our forum members kept a close eye on all the runways, ready and willing to share their opinions on almost every single show. Check out their highs and lows of the Fall 2019 season in the slideshow above.
Hits and Misses: Fall 2019 Haute Couture
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HIT: RR331
"Finally there’s a couture collection about pattern making and construction rather than meaningless embroidery."[blackcherrified]
"Amazing cuts as usual from Rucci. You can clearly tell everything is studied here, not a hint of randomness nor collection fillers." [jeanclaude]
"I quite like this. It’s so conservative — and not fake conservative, or conservative for play — really, truly conservative." [dior_couture1245]
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MISS: Chanel
"Yeah now I can see clearly this isn't gonna work out. I said from the beginning that Chanel needs to hire a new designer to usher in a new era with a new creative direction. Karl is gone, so the brand has to move on without him." [Marc10]
"There’s something missing. That black satin gown with the white belt looks so cheap! I couldn’t believe it when I saw it." [HodanChloe]
"This is very quiet and yet again, referential toward Karl. The concept is repellent and lacks desirability." [PierreGotha]
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HIT: Givenchy
"I love it, wearable and dramatic at the same time." [IndigoHomme]
"While some looks are not for the fainthearted, I think there are a lot of chic pieces. First two looks and that black and white coat are fabulous." [YeohRocks]
"This is actually my favorite couture collection by Clare since the first one. While some prints/fabrics look dated and kind of ugly, she manages to bring something new to the table each time." [GreyVetiver]
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MISS: Christian Dior
"Literally laughed out loud when I saw the Avenue Montaigne 30 outfit! And so fed up with quote T-shirts and the same tulle dresses every season. For god's sake, step it up Maria!" [aracic]
"Where to begin! So far this is her worst show, the slogan in the beginning is a quote. How silly that she needs a quote to make a statement." [Norden]
"The fashion equivalent of baby seals being clubbed to death." [disco54]
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HIT: Alexandre Vauthier
"I love the energy of AV’s shows! It’s light, fun and sexy. The quality of his clothes is fabulous and he has a good eye for fabrics. I love the pink prom dress and also the prom thing around the show." [Lola701]
"Always been a fan of Vauthier's since day one, always giving me a fix of the good old Christophe Decarnin x Balmain days and never truly detested a single collection he's done. This...is no exception!" [vogue28]
"Love the suits/pants and the polka dot dress. There aren't enough suits during haute couture and you can't put a price on excellent tailoring." [EstefaniaAbaddon]
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MISS: Azzaro
"Very 2004. Next." [GivenchyAddict]
"What kind of early 2000s mess am I looking at?" [mistress_f]
"A disaster. It would have been better to present less looks and actually focus on the execution of the clothes and the selection of the fabrics." [Lola701]
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HIT: Maison Margiela
"I have no bias when it comes to Galliano, I really do like his designs. For me this collection is way stronger than most standard RTW lines, which we are seeing from brands doing the best sales and public approval. From the one-shouldered gray coat dress to the end is perfection. Love the colors, and love the jacket cuts." [Benn98]
"I think this was his best collection for Margiela yet, I mean it was wild and raw yet dark and profound in a way. This time there was a fresh vibe going on, the collection seems more controlled to me and I just love the deconstruction of traditional couture here." [perhydrol]
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MISS: Iris van Herpen
"Please push yourself more Iris! I used to be so excited each season to see what interesting and beautiful creations she would present. Now it has just become very formulaic and ironically two-dimensional." [Nomar]
"She found her niche and is milking it. Unfortunately, it's getting boring. The same thing happened to Mary Katrantzou. You can only do one thing for so long." [GivenchyHomme]
"I actually like her designs, but it's time to overhaul not only the silhouette but also the materials. The last three collections all blend into one another. Painfully monotonous." [Benn98]
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HIT: Viktor & Rolf
"Very surprisingly, I like it very much — the concept of arts and crafts. It seems unpretentious to me. It is wearable, it's unique and it's certainly couture." [gazebo]
"I like it as well. There's something really beautiful about it in an off way. I think that they are starting to find their way a little more each season. It's not perfect, but it's good in my eyes and I think with some editing, it could be wearable." [Salvatore]
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MISS: Ulyana Sergeenko
"What exactly is the point of this brand?" [KissMiss]
"A complete mess." [Nomar]
"Is she trying to make up for her little boo-boo by casting mostly black models?" [GivenchyHomme]
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HIT: Elie Saab
"I can't get over how gorgeous the kimono-inspired pieces are." [chloesaab]
"I like how va-va-voom the red gown in the second look is." [blackcherrified]
"Definitely better than previous lackluster collections. Nice to see some new shapes and silhouettes in the mix." [billiejbob]
See all the looks from the Elie Saab collection. -
MISS: Dundas
"Peter Dundas' designs are so flat and the execution and details are so one-dimensional since he left Pucci. He's not pushing himself. This doesn't look like couture in any sense of the word." [reese06]
"Is this supposed to make me feel anything? I scrolled down without stopping once, it's boring me to death. I feel like I took a walk through an H&M aisle in my local mall." [aracic]
"If Dolce & Gabbana and Alexander McQueen had a love child, it would look like this." [GivenchyHomme]
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MISS: Redemption
"Can he try to accomplish a decent RTW collection first before showing up at couture?" [Marc10]
"The cheap-looking fabric and generic silhouettes are what pulls it right into the mall show/pageant realm." [Benn98]
"So many questions. The fit, the delusion, who? And who finances this puddle of fabric?" [Norden]
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MISS: Schiaparelli
"Where's Schiaparelli here?" [helmutnotdead]
"It’s all obscenely hideous and vulgar. This house has all the potential in the world and all we end up getting is really useless, ugly couture." [dior_couture1245]
"I respect the amount of work that goes into this. But literally everything about this is bad. I cannot find any redeeming qualities that might save this collection." [Norden]
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MISS: Jean Paul Gaultier
"Very irrelevant couture...so sad. It's super ironic because he should be back to what he was doing for his RTW, but the way he did it in the 90s." [IloveDiorHomme]
"Totally agree. He has the potential to be the only exciting couturier at fashion week if he just looked to the future for ideas rather than the past." [billiejbob]
"Something about this makes me really sad. Perhaps it's because, like many are saying, he's stuck and if he just let go of trying to be JPG, it wouldn't look so tragic or dated." [Salvatore]
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MISS: Armani Privé
"Imagine having all that money and skill, and then making...this." [YeohRocks]
"Being a rich woman in 2019 is veeery boring!" [jeanclaude]
"I love GA and I think he's a legend in his own right, but this is bad. I can't believe this is HIS collection! I'm beyond disappointed." [billiejbob]
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MISS: Valentino
"Truth be told, it’s a terrible collection. No matter how beautifully made his clothes are. Those clothes were taking over those women. And he had an amazing cast. Unfortunately, none of them were believable in those clothes." [Lola701]
"I'm sorry, but this is terrible. I get the craftsmanship aspect, but that's part of any couture house's legacy. This is just tacky, would take Chanel over this any day of the year!" [TianCouture]
"He's getting more and more ridiculous with his DRAMATIC COUTURE, especially now when every single brand has done a shapeless, voluminous gown. When he started with this aesthetic, I thought that he would eventually evolve his ideas, but it seems that it's quite impossible. Those ideas aren't even that fresh now." [perhydrol]
