Haute couture could be seen as an obscene luxury at the best of times, not least when the world has been plunged into the depths of recession. t5m was feeling lucky in Paris, there to to catch the first day of Paris Couture Week.
So how, if you’re John Galliano, to show off your wares for Dior’s Spring/Summer 2009 show without appearing unfashionably ostentatious? By turning garments in on themselves to reveal the painstaking detail and attention lavished on each and every surface, seam and stitch.
With his latest collection, Galliano further shows just how true an art form couture really is. ‘It is an art, which the craftsmen and women perform with love and pride,’ he attests. As many as 80 of these artisans, for example, worked for between 300 and 400 hours on each of the six corseted, crinoline ballgowns featured at the end of the show.
The collection was heavily influenced by Dutch Masters such as Vermeer and Van Dyck, with pearl necklaces and the Dutch tulip a recurring motif in many incarnations; painted, beaded, embroidered. A rich palette of gold, ivory and Delft blue swept down the catwalk against the backdrop of a stained-glass window, to majestic effect.
The models themselves were coiffed to perfection; incandescent in maquillage a la Pat McGrath. Our source reported back to the office that the models looked like ‘a cross between Pris from Bladerunner and painted French dolls’. You’ll be seeing a lot more of Pat around here as she will be talking to us in the run up to London Fashion Week, as well as giving us her insider’s guide to fashion week behind-the-scenes.
A-listers Mischa Barton, Dita Von Teese and French starlet Marion Cotillard were all spotted admiring from the front row. You can bet your baguette the recession was the furthest thing from their minds.
