Images: Imaxtree
It’s the most wonderful time of the year — haute couture fashion week. And while there was plenty of buzz off the runways, from Jean Paul Gaultier announcing his retirement to Balenciaga deciding to give haute couture another go, it was the clothes shown on the catwalks that really stole the spotlight.
Gaultier pulled out all the stops with a collection of his best works modeled by everyone from Gigi Hadid to Dita Von Teese. All eyes were also on Virginie Viard as she presented Chanel’s second haute couture collection under her tenure. The fashion pack flocked to the Valentino show where Pierpaolo Piccioli served up a collection filled with bursts of color and gowns adorned with playful and unexpected twists.
As usual, our forum members kept close watch and weren’t afraid to share their opinions. So here are their picks for the best and worst of the Spring 2020 Haute Couture collections.
Hits and Misses Haute Couture Spring 2020
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HIT: Alexandre Vauthier
"I'm here for this. I appreciate what he does with haute couture as it's not like what the other houses are offering." [Salvatore]
"Vauthier is one of my favorites and this show was actually the one that I enjoyed the most since couture week started." [Lola701]
"Another fan of Vauthier right here. Always look forward to his collections and while this isn’t his most cohesive, it’s still very strong and true to the Vauthier aesthetic." [vogue28]
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MISS: Christian Dior
"Another season, another pretentious 'feminist' slogan. It's just another Valentino remix and I hate it!" [aracic]
"The problem with MGC is that her feminist posture doesn’t match her designs. You want women to rule the world? You need to design the clothes that will help them rule that world. No, your answer is ballerina dresses and lazy pantsuits..." [Lola701]
"She’s made the amazing couture house of Dior completely irrelevant to me. What a feat." [Nomar]
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HIT: Maison Margiela
"Best collection of the season by far and his best for the house. All of the gowns have a very vintage Galliano feeling to them, they're just fantastic. Still, the whole thing had a Margiela spirit, beyond just the masked faces." [gazebo]
"Maybe his best collection for the house yet. It’s the right amount of restraint and chaos, where most of his previous offerings have been heavy on the chaos, this collection is far better balanced. There are lots of genuinely beautiful looks here, too. A lot of it is very glamorous in a fresh way." [dior_couture1245]
"Those cut-out bias cut dresses are the best thing I've seen so far at couture week. So simple yet memorable." [dodencebt]
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MISS: Bouchra Jarrar
"Pedestrian. Ready-to-wear clothes with haute couture craftsmanship...but what is the point of it?" [jeanclaude]
"And she left Lanvin to design this? OK, bye." [TaylorBinque]
"I don’t think these clothes deserved a show." [Lola701]
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HIT: Jean Paul Gaultier
"Best show of the whole season! The playfulness from JPG collections was lost in the last years, but it is back here in this amazing retrospective of his work. It feels like more than just his 'greatest hits', it is like a 'director's cut' showing tons of new content and alternative versions of his most famous looks." [jeanclaude]
"JPG gave us couture week, everyone else can go home." [perfect blue]
"This whole show put a smile on my face and what a way to go out! Thank you JPG." [Nomar]
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MISS: Chanel
"Yeah Virginie Viard needs to go. Awfully basic, unflattering, cheap-looking and, most of all, still not a hint of personal artistic vision. Still looking like scraps and vague memories of Karl's work. Just clueless. Also, embarrassing cast. Just when you think progress is being made on diversity..." [Marc10]
"The collection is absolutely horrible. She relies heavily on the memory of Karl's timeless designs, but she simply can't pull it off. It's just sad to watch." [aracic]
"But where's the couture? Everything is lifeless, even Gigi is bored. And some looks are just tragic — they look like curtains with buttons. I think that Virginie didn't want to be Karl's successor. In my opinion, she was thrown into that role and she herself is not really satisfied with the situation. She might be a good manager in the atelier, but she is not a creative force." [RaisinBoy]
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HIT: Viktor & Rolf
"I love it! Two collections in a row that are so well done." [Salvatore]
"I love it. Better than all the BIG names. They started this artsy-craftsy thing last season and it works for them; handmade, homemade. It's cheeky and cheerful and I wish to see people wearing them on the red carpet." [gazebo]
"Some amazing patchwork in this collection, best of the season. Convince me otherwise, their atelier is so underrated." [Vitamine W]
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MISS: Schiaparelli
"A plane crash in the form of a fashion collection. It started off fine and then just took a turn for the worst." [Salvatore]
"I still wonder where is Elsa in this Schiaparelli brand..." [jeanclaude]
"Wow, most of this is quite questionable. I get fun for fun's sake, but does it have to look cheap as well?" [dodencebt]
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HIT: Givenchy
"Must admit that this was the first couture show of the season where I’ve stuck around to watch the full live stream in its entirety! One look after the other, I was keen to see what Clare would serve up next...and I wasn’t disappointed." [vogue28]
"After Dior and Chanel, I’m not afraid to say I like this." [helmutnotdead]
"I liked the periwinkle dress and the fitted coral skirt with a bright orange top. Really pretty and tasteful. The giant purple hat that looked like a halo was also great. At the very least it had some ambition to it, Dior and Chanel were painfully one-note and puerile." [YohjiAddict]
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MISS: Alexis Mabille
"Alexis Mabille is a designer full of surprises! With this collection, he just showed that it’s possible to do a tacky all-white collection. The irony is that the best look is the black one worn by Dita Von Teese." [Lola701]
"He is one of those designers who just doesn't have an eye for luxurious fabrics." [TaylorBinque]
"That amount of white-on-white fabric will always remind me of wedding gowns. Also, for the love of God, can everyone just STOP with the HUGE BOWS!" [Machinegumm]
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HIT: Valentino
"To be honest, I don’t care how messy it is because it’s so much fun to watch. I think Pierpaolo Piccioli and Galliano consistently save couture week from being a total disaster." [Yohji]
"I was pleasantly surprised by this collection after the disaster of his show in China. I loved the more grown-up allure, the cast and the eccentricity of this collection as opposed to the endless extravaganza we have been used to with him. The models looked like eccentric socialites." [Lola701]
"Honestly loved the glamour prom couture in the second half. Just glad we got spared 30-plus billowy gowns. Pleasantly surprised." [Vitamine W]
