January 25, 2013

Couture SS13. In a land of plenty.

“…breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain.” T.S. Eliot

Couture is an exercise in exquisiteness, the ball of high fashion, where every stitch counts and punk isn’t on the guestlist. For SS13, the last standing couturiers ushered in Spring, its lightness and greenery reflected in the settings and embellished on the suitable-for-dinner-in-heaven clothes. Mother Nature has played the cruel mistress of late, casting subzero temperatures, so couture’s reminder of her gentle side was exactly the pick me up we needed to cure our bleak midwinter moods. Here we count down our favourite elements of the flowery, evergreen haute couture season, which, given the price tags, will inevitably remain a fantasy in more ways one than one, but oh to dream.

Text: Sarah Raphael
Photography: Mitchell Sams

Christian Dior

“As the breeze gently moved the box bush topiary, the light dimmed and then turned to daylight inside the venue. The models appeared to rise from the ground like spring flowers. Raf Simons’ collection for Dior couture, spring summer 2013 was literally inspired by the season.” Terry Jones. This was Raf Simons’ second couture collection, and he had his own big shoes to fill. Set in the Tuilleries, he brought the gardens inside and planted rich yellow tulips and singing peonies on gowns and sheer dresses. Simons’ Spring looked good enough to eat.

Chanel

“The Grand Palais is Karl’s fashion home”, Terry Jones commented, and seasonal redecorating seems to be his hobby. Following on from the wind turbine catwalk for his last ready-to-wear women’s show, Karl Lagerfeld created a rich, fertile green forest. Playing with classic Chanel shapes, he embroidered large happy flowers, so precise they looked like prints, on floor length gowns with trains and wide-leg trousers. It was modern but enchanted and breathtakingly beautiful.

Valentino

With some pieces reportedly taking 800 hours to complete, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli took Valentino’s couture stance to heart. Bringing outside inside too, their gated gowns and 70s coloured florals had real, original beauty. Nature’s belles.

Maison Martin Margiela

Bouquets of flowers were embroidered onto sheer ankle length skirts, contrasted with graphic short tops and birds of a feather boob tubes. An edgier take on the traditionalist craft, Maison Margiela’s couture nature wasn’t soft or dreamy, but bold and masked.

fashion

Couture SS13. In a land of plenty.

“…breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain.” T.S. Eliot

related i-D content