Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Out With the Old at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2021

Out With the Old at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2021

New faces, including Kim Jones, Sterling Ruby, and more, went big while audiences stayed home for Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week.

Earlier this month Pascal Morand, executive president of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode announced the runways would unfold sans audience, but clearly guests of equine origin were not included in his statement, as seen by the presence of horses at three shows. This year’s Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2021 was truly an exhibition of unbridled creativity (sorry not sorry). Horse jokes aside, the 18 virtual shows of hand-crafted creations really were a breath of much needed fresh-out-of-the-atelier air.

Pandemic-inspired long-johns and loungewear were nowhere to be seen as official Chambre Syndicale members including Maison Margiela, Dior, Chanel, and correspondent members like Valentino and Iris Van Herpen presented. Among the familiar mix, though, new faces like the much-anticipated newly anointed Creative Director of Fendi, Kim Jones debuted.



With years under his belt at Umbro, a Supreme x Louis Vuitton collaboration, and several seasons of streetwear-able menswear collections at Dior Men (where he remains at the helm) much in that vein was expected of Jones. What he delivered instead was a declaration that he is, in fact, more couture than streetwear as a designer. From the illustrious fabric choices to the equally eye-catching co-ed casting including Demi Moore, Kate and Lila Moss, Adwoa and Kesewa Aboah, Christy and James Turlington, and Naomi Campbell, Jones' premiere proved as stunning as promised.

New to the Parisian affairs also was Area, Alber Elbaz’s AZ Factory, Charles de Vilmorin, and Sterling Ruby. For Elbaz, this marks his first outing back into the fashion industry since 2015 when he left Lanvin. Operating as a startup with far less manpower than the at least 20 petite mains typically required by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, Elbaz’s runway reset was an intimate one.



AZ Factory Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2021

Fine artist gone high fashion designer Sterling Ruby also made an unconventional appearance. His label, S.R. Studio LA. CA., has an in-house manufacturing practice, but a few one-of-a-kind pieces qualified the brand for Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week this year. Playing with ideas of post-apocalyptic youth and paintball guns, the video presentation captured by Ruby was a delightful display of America’s sartorial past and present. Silhouettes spanned from pilgrim collars and bonnets to workwear and skater pants.



S.R. Studio LA. CA. Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2021

Another American-born couture runway newcomer this year was New York based-brand Area. Headed by duo Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Panszczyk, the label was not on the official Paris schedule or member sponsored, technically qualifying it as couture-next-door. However, with a client list including Michelle Obama and Beyoncé, it should not come as a shock that the 14-look show mustered up to the rest. Catholic references came to life through impressive metal work and Berber coin embroidery. Satin tiered gowns and Swarovski crystal rib cage cocktail dresses wowed. Not only bringing a new materiality to couture, Area also expanded the vision of who gets to wear it, featuring curve model Precious Lee wearing its creations.



Other fashion houses such as Iris van Herpen and Valentino wanted to examine the body in relation to technology and the couture; the manus x machina theme ever-evolving. At the former, which recently garnered a worldwide audience dressing Lady Gaga at the U.S. presidential inauguration, the one-of-a-kind métier of Haute Couture subverted the handmade in favor for 3D printing. Meanwhile at Valentino, Pierpaolo Piccioli offered a more casual approach focusing on ease and shape, rather than the normal couture flourishes. To complement the modern, not-quite-minimalism (there were still abundant sequins and intricate lattice detailing), the designer worked with musician and artist Robert Del Naja and neurographer Mario Klingemann for a post-show video piece that presents the collection "through the synthetic filter of artificial intelligence," digitally warping and augmenting the textiles on the screen.

Then there were the Parisian mainstays that surprised not for the fashion but for its companions. Exact origin unknown, the most peculiar premiere this Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week were, of course, the many, many horses. For Dior's collection, white horses join the models in the ethereal tarot-inspired images. At Chanel, the show's final bridal look emerged with a model riding a horse onto the Grand Palais runway. The equestrian has long inspired the fashion house's interpretations of sport clothing, thanks to founder Coco Chanel's love of horseback riding. White steeds also made a cameo in Giambattista Valli's digital presentation, where models wearing the designer's famous tulle confections are shown in a split screen with clips filmed around Seville, Spain. It seems couture this year is certainly haute to trot.


Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×