Haute couture, haute plaisir - last day

Saving the best for last, is what some people would say, considering that the last day of Paris Haute Couture shows was headlined by none other than A-list favourite and the master of female body illusions, Zuhair Murad. The Beirut-based designer sent down the runway an allegory of extravagance and gold, with delicately embellished gowns for the strong, self-confident and sensual woman not afraid of the pleasures of a little bit of luxury. With a Baroque resonance, the dresses were superb in their detailing. On one, a richly embroidered bodice dissolved into sequined arabesques on a nude silk tulle train. Others drew their origins from ancient Greece, with fluid panels of light-coloured chiffon and silk tulle, set off with gold or platinum embroideries.

Rad Hourani’s first official couture collection paid homage to his approach to unisex fashion with an almost religious procession of boys and girls going down the runway in androgynous looks highlighted in their simplicity by the basic colours of black and white. Geometric and structural, the show was a statement of the power of equality and modernity, with sleek pieces like sleeveless tuxedos and futuristically crisp coats and jackets. As the designer himself said, “It’s a language I’m very dedicated to, I think it’s something very important in our society. Unisex isn’t just a garment reference—it implies that age doesn’t exist, religion doest exist, and so on. There are no boundaries.” 

This week of couture was wrapped up in style by a display of Herve L. Leroux's creations. Leroux is the man credited for making curve-hugging bandage dresses a hit before there ever was Max Azria and the Herve Leger craze. Even if he has been absent from the fashion forefront for over a decade, Leroux made a comeback in style (excuse the pun), with an array of glamorous, old Hollywood-ish dresses in powerful shades of yellow, magenta, bronze and petrol. Elaborately draped from silk jersey, custom-made for Leroux in Italy, the gowns oozed simple elegance and hinted at a possible return to the big league for the French designer. 

Haute couture, haute plaisir - day 3

Today was, if I can say so, the 'hautest' plaisir of all, namely because I love Elie Saab and Valentino. Together with Oscar de la Renta, they are my glamorous soft spots. I swear to you, I cannot help but be completely swooning over all their collections and secretly wishing I was a multi-millionaire to be able to collect them all. But, sigh, as that is not bound to happen anytime soon, the couture shows will just have to do, and they are a treat all by themselves.

Elie Saab was a low-key, low-effort affair, with none of the drama and visual impressiveness of its fellow couturiers Dior or Chanel. No. There was only a simple U-shaped runway and the models walking slowly on top of it, like enchanted emissaries of a fairy-land. The Lebanese-born designer stuck to what he knows best, complicated embroideries with intricate beading and touches of sparkle on waves of lace - some might call this boring or playing it safe, but it's a signature. Saab is the master of this particular art and, in this collection, he took it one step forward to play not only with the visual illusions of decadent embellishing, but also with transparencies that reveal and cover the female body as beautifully as a charm. The result was a light fairytale world of princesses and an ode to femininity.

Gardens seem to be the leitmotif of many of the shows we've seen this week, but if Dior and Chanel chose to construct a life-size green-leafed background to showcase their work, Valentino did more - he took the concept and incorporated it into his work. Curlicues of fabrics were a fixture on most of the  pieces shown, from the dresses to the feminine suits, echoing the wrought-iron gates and fences of old-school public parks. One gray dress with embroidered birds was even paired with a black cape made from this kind of tubing, making the model wearing it look like a mobile birdcage. Black lace was arranged on one A-line skirt to look like a garden maze, and a procession of shimmering green leaves snaked up a sheer ruffled dress. This was also a very modern and sober(ing) interpretation of the feminine, with a number of sleek looks without decorations which nonetheless summoned attention and awe.

Gaultier, as always, was an exuberant dissonance of colour, cuts and patterns. The inspiration for his collection was the majestic and rich culture of India and, while this extravagant Indian gypsy style could easily draw onto kitsch, the French designer kept it elegant and memorable. There was an abundance of deep colours, gold threaded silk, heavy prints and intricate embroideries matched by slim shapes, fitted jackets and form-fitting dress.Throughout the show, Gaultier hinted elegantly to some of his greatest hits — the trench, the smoking, the sleekness of corsetry, cone bra included. And even if this collection is not bound to establish a new perspective on fashion, couture is, after all, about the power of good craft and the artistry of style, and there was no lack thereof.

The day ended with the Artisanal collection of Maison Martin Margiela, now in its second season of Couture runway. It was a spellbinding show of a different note that the other collections of the week. In a faithful continuation of its founder's spirit, the house unceasingly looks to reinvent instead of innovate the ways in which we think of glamour and dressing, bringing a certain playful experimentation and an edgy quality. Just take the last three looks, whcih were made from thousands of metallic candy wrappers embroidered onto pongee silk. Other pieces were just as interesting, fusing wistfully romantic twenties with the more utilitarian contemporary staples of a trench or a parka. A mix and match of styles that is not for the faint of heart and not exactly haute couture either, but offers wit that anyone can appreciate to its true measure.

Haute couture, haute plaisir - Day 2 in Paris

Day two of Paris Haute Couture debuted with high drama and the theatrical aesthetic of the Chanel show. Like in a gothic fairytale of a damned woods, the models strutted down the runway with organised chaos in their hairdos and dark makeup of some kind of harlequins of the damned. The dresses themselves were rich in details and adornments, with delicate Chantilly lace combined with traditional Chanel tweed, tulle, beaded and sequined flowers and eau de nil feathers - an assortment of visual inspiration, from the great English ladies of the 18th centuries and their drawing room tragedies to the lost swans of Swan lake and a feminine version of Doomsday. A massively impressive collection, which defied both trends and tradition to establish itself as what haute couture is supposed to be - the closest thing to art that fashion allows.

Stéphane Rolland has often said he approaches each of his creations as if it were a sculpture. Yesterday, he proved to all that he has certainly managed to perfect his craft and vision with an almost monochrome collection so architectural, with lines so clean that they appeared to have gone from sketches to runway without any middle process in between. The shapes felt natural and organic, of refined fabrics like silk and organza, a contemporary view of Da Vinci's concept of simplicity as sophistication. It was a beauty to behold.

There was nothing simple, however, about the Armani Prive show. This was a massive display of creativity matched by a historian's enthusiasm for the beginnings of the 20th century and the riveting mixed heritage of the confluence between Europe and Asia. The gilets, the zouave-like pants and the fez-type hats that every model had fitted to her head, as well as the bold colour palette of rich reds, oranges, and saffron brought to mind the viziers of days of yore. Yet still, the striking silhouettes and the abundance of sleek pants and masculine details were reminiscent of the woman of the 20s and 30s, the strong figure on the brink of emancipation, rebelling against convention and setting out to build her own path. It was eye-catching and beautiful, yet another masterpiece from Signor Armani.

A difference exercise in creativity was Ulyana Sergeenko's new collection. Having stepped out (literally) from a book, her creations were inspired by the great US literary benchmarks of 'Gone with the wind' or 'Huckleberry Finn'. And, as is always the case with the Russian's sense of style, visible in both her persona and her designs, the end result was unapologetically theatrical and of a different era. While, overall, the collection may have seemed like a mere ensembles of costume for a period movie, what pleasantly surprised was the attention to details - the buttons on the back of the gowns were made of porcelain and hand-painted with the characters of Russian nursery rhymes, while beautiful crocheted embroideries drew attention to delicate silk blouses. It's this sense for the subtle that could make the difference for this designer in the future.

Perhaps not exactly what you would expect from the description 'haute couture', but Bouchra Jarrar's collection insinuates itself into your mind and alerts your senses with its casual sensibility and practical modernity. The collection featured a string of gorgeous coats for a wearer with great personality, each with its own detail of difference - an asymmetric closure or collar, an inventive scarf or a a striking bit of fur thrown in for good measure. The cuts of each of the clothes were riveting and the overall feel was one of impact and subversive lust.

In stark contrast, Alexandre Vauthier was all things dark, mysterious, slim and sleek. The night lady that preys on the unsuspecting, the strong silhouette of sexuality revealed and a modern homage to a hauntingly beautiful feminine presence.