Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Sep 01, 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
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×