Haute Couture news and archive

Paris haute couture week unveils provisional schedule and Thom Browne debut

FHCM, the French Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, has unveiled the provisional calendar for the Autumn Winter 2023 haute couture season. The calendar is scheduled to run from 3rd to 6th July, and promises a captivating lineup of craftsmanship, high fashion and new guest designers. Kicking off the week on the 3rd of July will be the...

Fashion

Valentino to stage AW23/24 haute couture show in France’s Château de Chantilly

Italian luxury house Valentino is continuing to mix up the fashion week calendar, now revealing that it will be staging its haute couture autumn/winter 2023/24 show in Château de Chantilly in France. The event will take place on July 5 during Haute Couture Week, when creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli will unveil the brand’s latest collection....

Fashion Featured

Away from the frenzy, creativity shines at haute couture

It was not so long ago that haute couture was held in salons, private sitting room-style presentations that showed the collections to a Maison’s elusive, well-to-do clientele. It was unobtrusive, chic, and most of all held hush-hush behind closed doors. But those are days of yore. Just like ready-to-wear, haute couture is vying for fashion’s...

Fashion

Josephine Baker and the Roaring Twenties celebrated by Dior

From cabaret feathers to sleek suits and velvet robes, Dior celebrated Josephine Baker and the wild freedom of the Roaring Twenties in a celeb-packed show on Monday to kickstart haute couture week in Paris. A parade of stars were in the front row, including Anya Taylor-Joy, Kirsten Dunst, Rosamund Pike and K-Pop's Jisoo, to see Chiuru's homage...

Fashion

The Mumbai atelier that's the secret workshop of top French fashion

Sitting in a lotus position, four men weave glittering beads through gold thread on an organza sheet, carefully constructing a wedding dress that will soon wow crowds at Paris Fashion Week. For once, the French couturier behind the design, Julien Fournie, is determined to put these craftsmen in the spotlight: his new collection, showing in Paris...

Fashion Featured

Daniel Roseberry's couture animals for Schiaparelli receive a roaring backlash

The Paris haute couture season got off to a controversial start with Daniel Roseberry’s Schiaparelli’s show on Monday. The collection, inspired by Dante’s Inferno, a work about seeking enlightenment, featured several spectacular animal heads sewn onto garments. They were a representation of Dante's journey to find his way to heaven when he is...

People

Sidney Toledano appointed head of France's Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture

Sidney Toledano has been appointed the new head of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. Mr Toledano succeeds Ralph Toledano, who is no relation, and who held the position alongside the presidency of France’s fashion chamber, FHCM, since 2015. Sidney Toledano will remain Chairman and CEO of LVMH Fashion Group, as well as Chairman of the...

People

Jean Paul Gaultier announces Haider Ackermann as next haute couture guest

Colombian-born designer Haider Ackermann has been revealed as the next haute couture guest for Jean Paul Gaultier’s spring/summer 2023 collection. Over the course of his career, the Paris-based creator has been the head of a number of prominent fashion houses, including Dior, Martin Margiela and Berluti, after he completed a five month...

Fashion Featured

Paris Fashion Week: events outside of the official calendar

September 26 will see the start of Paris Fashion Week, where 105 designers and brands will present their women’s spring/summer 2023 collections as part of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM) calendar. But what is going on outside of the official schedule? FashionUnited has put together a selection of off-show events to look...

Background

Fashion: from catwalk to closet

What is fashion exactly? What influences are there on fashion? What role do Fashion Weeks play? How do trends arise and how do trends find their way into our wardrobe? FashionUnited explains. Contents • Definition of fashion and trends • Trends and acceptance • What influences fashion • What role do Fashion Weeks play? • How fashion trends find...

Fashion Featured

What is with the resurgence in couture?

Haute couture was once the pinnacle of what was considered fashion across the world. Fashion was about selling dreams and artistry, and the work Paris couturiers put into their creations for their clients was legendary. Some of the biggest names in fashion, from Christian Dior to Coco Chanel, made legendary names of themselves thanks to their...

Fashion |In Pictures Featured

Valentino couture a feast of colour in Rome

Valentino went home to Rome to showcase its latest haute couture collection, ‘The Beginning,’ depicting the idea of “beauty heralded” by its creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli. The Italian fashion house turned Rome’s Spanish Steps into a rainbow of colour with a joyful autumn/winter haute couture collection filled with dramatic silhouettes and...