If you’re a chronically online fashion lover, chances are you’ve heard a little something about Paris’ most recent couture extravaganza. That’s right, I’m talking about Haute Couture SS 2024. With Alaïa’s mind-bending construction, Schiaparelli’s motherboards, and Maison Margiela’s porcelain profiles (Pat McGrath has done it again), this season, couture shows broke the internet. Of course, it wasn’t all sunshine and camellias…I’m looking at you, Chanel. But overall, in an unheard of turn of events, the fashion community united and came to a decision. This couture season was the cream of the crop. This couture coutured harder than all other coutures that came before. The bar has now been indefinitely raised.
In fact, the plethora of creatively directed runways was so abundant that many career-defining shows barely got their chance in the limelight. Robert Wun was impossibly tasked with following up his previous couture collection, which had THE viral wine-stained dress, and he delivered. As if to say, I see your love for red wine spotted gowns and raise you blood-spattered bridal. With sculptural elements that seemed like the love child of a Loewe x Schiaparelli collaboration (I’m deeply manifesting this), Wun cemented his place in the 2024 Couture Hall of Fame. In terms of actual collabs, Simone Rocha designed a breathtaking collection for Jean Paul Gaultier, which already has celebs like Rosamund Pike in a chokehold. Fendi came out with a sleek yet classic 40-piece show, Garav Gupta did what Garav Gupta does best and created impossibly structured garments. Valentino and Georges Hobeika proved colorful menswear is here to stay, Viktor and Rolf opted to keep the mothballs in their closet, Giambattista Valli’s delicately feminine garments accomplished what Chanel’s tried but failed to, and Rahul Mishra exhibited his stunningly conceptual beadwork once again.
But so what? These designers did what they’re paid to do, right? Wrong. A sweep like this is unheard of. Generally, there are a few shows that have a viral moment, take over the fashion side of TikTok, and flood your Pinterest feeds. Sometimes, the aesthetic is there, but the quality and craftsmanship aren’t, or vice versa. Yet this season, everything was haute, haute, haute. From classic silhouettes to avant-garde designs, nearly every house devoured. The assignments were understood, and absolutely no crumbs were left. Every single detail was polished, and people were employed (shout out to this season’s movement coaches and ear bedazzlers)! Unfortunately for New York Fashion Week, the untimely task of following up this showstopping couture season fell upon the Big Apple. The metropolitan quiet luxury collections, sans Willy Chavaria and Area, paled in comparison to the Parisian presentations. All eyes now fall on London…maybe they’ll pick up the slack. Of course, no one will come close to the level of fame and artistry presented at Haute Couture SS 2024, but boy, oh boy, am I excited to see what next season will bring.
Words by Miia Popovics.
Graphic by Gavin Bacher.