Haute couture was supposed to hold a durable torch for aspiration. But this couture week, the story was about who is taking over.
Pierpaolo Piccioli showed his first couture collection for Balenciaga. Duran Lantink made his couture debut at Jean Paul Gaultier. Olivier Theyskens introduced a new label. Matthieu Blazy presented his second couture collections at Chanel. Manish Malhotra became the first Bollywood couturier to join the official calendar with his MAA Collection. Rahul Mishra made Indian craft and architectural symbolism central. And Maria Grazia Chiuri took Fendi couture to Rome, rather than showing in Paris. Cameroonian designer Imane Ayissi showed under his own name rather than via a European mega‑house. While, Iris van Herpen continues her anchor as the new polycentric map of haute couture.
