Haute Couture Week A/W 2023 begins this week in Paris, seeing the historic medium – a couture gown is made nearly entirely by hand, for a singular client’s body – take the limelight as the city’s storied houses show off feats of craft and imagination in the season’s most dramatic runway shows. Expect opulent designs, showstopping show sets and a celestial front row – though this season, with some trepidation, as riots and social unrest continued across France over the weekend (Celine chose to cancel its S/S 2024 menswear show, due to take place on Sunday evening, as a mark of respect).
Alongside the titans of haute couture – namely Dior, Chanel, Valentino, Fendi, Schiaparelli and Giorgio Armani Privé – there is also set to be a new generation pushing the boundaries of the medium. Among them, American designer Thom Browne who will hold his first-ever haute couture show on Monday 3 July to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his eponymous brand, Paco Rabanne creative director Julien Dossena who will be this season’s guest designer at Jean Paul Gaultier, and Demna who will bring his no-doubt subversive take on haute couture at Balenciaga.
