The Best of the Paris Haute Couture Shows Spring 2018
The semi-annual haute couture shows in Paris – held each January and July – are at their core a study in contradictions. Clients and their stylists simultaneously demand clothes that are ethereal and fantastical, but also sufficiently functional to be worn by actual women, often on the red carpet. This year, the global mood is somber, and yet the essence of haute couture is escape, beauty and pleasure. Dreams meet reality, and art meets commerce, and it’s the rare designer who can satisfy the needs of both. This year, that’s further complicated by The Reckoning: #MeToo fashion is a fluid idea at the moment, sometimes requiring the color black, other times being expressed through powerful colors and silhouettes – and every now then, the flash of a slogan or a statement tee. Oh, and did we mention that haute couture prices are stratospheric? So while the designs must flatter, they must also represent the highest possible craftsmanship from the atelier. A $200,000+ dress has to be a truly unique work of art.
