What's 'Haute' This Season: Spring/Summer '21 Fashion Review Part 2
Bohemia vibes, couture values, and Virginia Woolf's "Orlando” make up these couture shows' elements. We've evaluated other collections from this couture season, and now it's time to do a few more. Compared to other fashion seasons, couture season is always a little grander and larger than life. And these designers did nothing less than a fantastic job.
Chanel
Virginie Viard took over as Creative Director at Chanel in 2019 after being at the brand since 1987. Karl Lagerfeld often said Viard was his right and left arm. After Lagerfeld's death, Viard was appointed his successor. Chanel is a heritage brand and continues to live up to its luxurious status. For this collection, Viard was inspired by bohemia weddings and family gatherings, which haven't happened within the past year. However, drawing inspiration from gatherings everyone longs to attend again makes this collection extremely timely.
The Looks
The opening look is a white lace top with red flowers on the cuffs. The flowers on the cuffs continue to make up the skirt. The skirt has a slit up the middle that looks a bit out of place, but is still handcrafted beautifully.
A trope of Virginie Viard's Chanel is the tweed on skin. Chanel is consistently reinventing how tweed is worn. These looks add a fun and youthful touch to an otherwise mature fabric.
Plus-sized model Jill Kortleve walks the runway in a red and white tweed jacket with black lining. Although it poses the question—why put the only plus-sized model in something that completely covers her body?
Virginie Viard has said she wants to dress women in a more wearable fashion. The layered tweed skirt with flecks of gold all over has a detachable element to it, which makes it more wearable.
A sequin cocktail dress with tulle coming out the back has loofah vibes, making it fun and youthful.
Chanel is known for ending with a wedding dress after the shows, and this collection was no different. A satin floor-length embroidered coat-gown with beaded motifs of butterflies and a popped collar closes out this collection.
Virginie Viard's Chanel is still evolving and molding into this new era of Chanel. Viard has a clear picture of where she wants to take the brand, and with a boost in sales, she is doing something right.
Valentino
Pierpaolo Piccioli started as an accessories designer at Valentino in 1999, and in 2016, he was appointed as the creative director. This year's collection was titled "Code Temporal" and explored Couture's rituals, processes, and values. This show was a commentary on the slow return to "normal." His last collection was stark white to reference the pandemic, and now his subtle color palette with hints of bright colors is hinting at the world slowly healing.
The Looks
The collection starts with a white wool cape with squares braided together. It is paired with a fuchsia top and pant that shows through the coat. This style is a continuation of Pierpaolo's 2019 couture collection.
This silver net dress made of embellished pearls with a hood composed of large and small pearls shows the brand’s craftsmanship.
The final look is a copper iridescent sequin bandeau and ball gown skirt, bringing in the brand's colorful integrity.
Pierpaolo talked about how this location was last minute, and particular looks were being changed rapidly due to COVID. However, this collection flows so well and proves that everything happens for a reason.
Fendi
Kim Jones debuted his first collection for Fendi. Jones is the Dior men's artistic director and was appointed Fendi's creative director this year. This collection explores Fendi's timeline and is inspired by Virginia Woolf's "Orlando," which shows the fluidity of the male and female genders with clothing through the use of time. Fendi started doing Haute Couture in 2015 and only showed every fall because the brand is known for its furs. This is the collection's first Spring/Summer couture show.
The Looks
The collection starts with a black off the shoulder top with double-breasted buttons, which has menswear elements. This shows off Jones' tailoring; however, the buttons look like they are holding on for dear life.
The final look is a silver and gray reflective marble gown with a long cape, worn by Naomi Campbell; it isn't quite the fashion moment they were going for, but a moment nonetheless.
Kim Jones at Fendi is an exciting new venture for the brand. This collection showcased the direction he will take the brand. It will be exciting to see how the brand will evolve under the direction of Kim Jones.
Haute couture is all handcrafted, and you can see the hours and hours spent on perfecting these collections. With the world so up in the air and fashion shows not looking quite the same as previous years, these brands have shown one thing: fashion can still flourish.
All clothing photography sourced from Vogue Runway