Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week goes virtual! Designers showcase their SS21 collections online

With no public catwalk shows due to the Covid-19 pandemic, fashion houses have had to get creative this ‘virtual’ Paris Haute Couture Week to showcase their SS21 collections. 

One of the high points of the yearly fashion calendar, the annual event kicked off yesterday (Monday 25) in the French capital and concludes on Thursday, with brands replacing the runway with online manifestations.

And it’s already seen very elaborate presentations from Christian Dior, Schiaparelli, Ziad Nakad, Julien Fournié and Farhad Re, all of which debuted elaborate hand-stitched ensembles in their own artistic fashion, providing a much-needed touch of luxurious escapism. 

Despite various restrictions on travel, many of the industry’s top models including Bella Hadid and Cara Delevingne were spotted emerging from their hotels today ahead of making an appearance on the virtual runway. 

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, brands have been advised that no guests will be allowed at shows this season, reports WWD. And there are expected to be some big name designers missing from this year’s showcase, including Jean Paul Gaultier, Elie Saab, Zuhair Murad and Ralph & Russo, as lockdowns continue to be rolled out across Europe. 

Today Ziad Nakad revealed its Spring Summer 2021 Couture collection at the Château de Vaux-Le-Vicomte, a Baroque French château located in Maincy southeast of Paris, entitled Birds of Love.

Ziad Nakad is renowned for his eccentric fabrics, sheer embroideries and unconventional beadings and mastered the art of couture by working with many famous fashion designers in Beirut.

Unsurprisingly given its name, feathers were a prominent feature of the Lebanese fashion designer’s elaborate Bird of Love evening gowns, while the elegant venue provided a stunning backdrop.

Meanwhile Farhad Re showed off its ‘Galatea’ haute couture collection in an eight minute film yesterday. The French designer used 500 metres of organza to create the 15 dresses in the collection, which evoke a futuristic take on ancient Greek mythology.

And French fashion designer Julien Fournié’s collection was all about ‘avoiding the totalitarianism of gloom’, he told Forbes.

In a film he directed that unveils the collection, entitled First Storm, three young women explore five different environments, all equally dreamlike and glamorous. According to the fashion house, they are like characters in a fairytale and, immersed in Fournié’s fetish worlds and under his secret guidance, they will find their own legend and cast a new light on their true personality.

Chiffon and tulle abound in the collection, along with elaborate sleeves, tight pleats, feathers and semi-sheer material.  

On Monday lavish golden dresses decked out in zodiac signs and tarot symbols provided some Christian Dior-infused mysticism for the start of the week. 

In a whimsical film, set in a fairy-style castle populated by Libra, Capricorn and models decked out as other astrological signs, Dior designer Maria Grazia Chiuri provided glitter and gold with gowns that combined lame fabric with velvet.

Silhouettes strayed from Chiuri’s usual cinched waists, with empire line necks in some cases, and capes fit for medieval royalty, including one decked out entirely in intricate flowers made from feathers.

The collection was inspired by tarot cards – a recurring motif and reference at Dior, including under the brand’s superstitious late founder – with many looks evoking a 15th century illuminated tarot deck known as the Visconti-Sforza.

Chiuri said she had been keen to explore the magic and solace tarot could offer nearly a year into the coronavirus pandemic, which has upended lives and industries globally, while many nations are still under lockdowns to control the disease.

‘It can help you not to be afraid of something you don’t know, that’s so insecure,’ Chiuri said of the tarot references in an interview. The cards are often used for fortune telling, a theme explored in the Dior film, directed by Italy’s Matteo Garrone. 

Yesterday Schiaparelli, whose Texan designer Daniel Roseberry dressed Lady Gaga for Joe Biden’s inauguration as US President last week, showcased bejewelled gowns paired with oversized earrings and super-hero style dresses which appeared to give models sculpted abdominals.  

Chanel is also due to present its Haute Couture ranges online. Luxury brands have had to transform the way they plan for collections with coronavirus restrictions, and Maria Grazia Chiuri said Dior now carried out fittings with haute couture clients over Zoom calls, orchestrating adjustments from afar.

Runway shows are usually an opportunity for fashion editors, bloggers and buyers to get a sense of the brands’ buzz up close.

Chiuri said Dior had forged ahead with its collection in order to give some of the industries that depend on fashion weeks a leg up too.

‘We tried to make the best of it for the supply chain too. We have to maintain the tradition of embroidery in Paris,’ Chiuri said.