Photos: At Paris Couture Week, the Looks Were as Extreme as the Heat
For its recent couture show in Paris, Dior transformed the sculpture garden of the Musée Rodin into an open-air pavilion lined with huge tree ferns. Under the roof, the air was surprisingly cool, and as the show began, a gentle breeze ruffled the space. As I photographed the models walking down the runway, I kept thinking about flow as an answer to oppressive heat.
The summer edition of haute couture isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s always hot outside, and heading indoors seldom provides much relief. Spare a thought for the models, too: Couture looks are often bigger and more complicated than ready-to-wear clothes (the collections shown in July are for the fall season, so bigger, more complicated and heavier).
But in Dior’s actual runway show, the collection felt anything but stifling. There was a lightness to most of the clothes that signaled both effortless and breathable movement. There was a similar sensibility in the Schiaparelli collection earlier in the day, but something about the air flow at the Musée Rodin put the lightness front and center. Chanel seemed equally concerned with comfort, with several looks featuring light, sheer tops, and at Jean Paul Gaultier, some of the biggest couture-type creations ever sent down a runway were nonetheless augmented with bare shoulders and bare backs.
Speaking of bare shoulders, the best development this season was what seemed to be an easing of some of fashion’s traditional strictness in favor of comfort. Editors, writers and other guests arrived to shows in (admittedly very nice) tank tops and shirts with several buttons undone. There were some exposed midriffs, and many exposed shoulders. There were also plenty of fans, waving and electric — just about all anyone could do to keep cool.
