Fashion surrenders to the classics (with touches of rebellion)
Valentino Haute Couture spring-summer 2024: an explosion of color in homage to the fashion of today and always
It is not trivial that, at a time when all social patterns are being reviewed,
Haute Couture
exalts the codes that allude to the most traditional concept of
femininity
. The criteria for defining this quality have been analyzed and stretched in recent years to adapt to the rules of this century and make them more comfortable in the face of a society that has an increasingly broader outlook.
In the eternal
debate between
feminism
and femininity
, the big fashion brands put forward proposals for this spring-summer that refer to those elements that have traditionally been associated with classic femininity and that, in certain environments, have been cornered. Flowers, bows, voluminous skirts with marked waists and warm tones have permeated the Paris catwalks during the week, recalling that halo of
romanticism
that ran through the end of the 18th century. As if, all together, they had discarded the complexes that in recent years have grown around these classicist concepts that occurred in parallel with the conquest of social rights. This is what is known as
the 'coquette' trend
.
The past editions have been anticipating this inspiration that vindicates the patterns that have historically been associated with femininity (understood in the broadest possible concept) and that comes after a period that has strived to erase these clues by opting for straight, androgynous and oversized shapes. . Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, Giorgio Armani and Chanel today incorporate this ladylike aura into their collections, sublimating it and
giving it a modernity
that distances them from that extreme novelistic delicacy that we have in our minds and that artists like Angelica Kauffmann portrayed so well.
Revisited femininity
It would be enough to dive into the universe of ballet in which
Virginie Viard
immerses
Chanel
to find that epitome of femininity. Of course, with a twist in the message. The incorporation of buttons, the cutest tweed, the innovation of the pattern and the commitment to transparencies (always in a subtle way, without falling into the obvious) break the schemes of traditional patterns. The creative designer wanted to rely on this trend towards
revised delicacy
, in which
bows
and, of course,
stockings
could not be missing , which are established as the viral accessory of the coming seasons.
Chanel is inspired by dance for its collection. White socks, the viral accessory of the season.
Jean Paul Gaultier
also speaks of delicacy and romanticism, in his own language
. With Simone Rocha at the helm, it draws a
'coquette' aesthetic of androgynous halos
that the brand works so hard on: hoopskirts, corsets and tulle combined in an unruly way are the exponent of this revolution of concepts that delves in a revised way into the roots of that femininity that , like the pendulum effect, returns to its place again.
Jean Paul Gaultier and his modern revision of feminine codes and the original signature, by Simone Rocha Simone Rocha Simone Rocha
The creative director of
Dior
, Maria Grazia Chiuri, proposes an appealing option that is based on the origins of the
New Look
with a marked waist and lower volume that enhances the silhouette. Draped dresses in trench fabric, attached flowers, jewel tops, organza shirts with girandolas, moiré effect fabrics and, of course, pearls, are the bets of this house, which threw one of the most important front rows with the surprise arrival of
Rihanna.
With nods to the essence of the founder, Dior is the best example of how, in accelerated times, the commitment to origins becomes the ideal refuge to find oneself. You never fail there.
Dior and its commitment to different trench shapes
The fashion of emotions
As is the case with
Giorgio Armani
, who turns 90 this year. Following in his own wake, he opts for a
precious collection
where the vaporous takes center stage. Faithful to his devotion to the lines of the body, to that elegance without arrogance, the creator pays tribute to that woman who travels and takes the best for herself from each destination. The embroidery, rhinestones and transparencies threw the public into the arms of the designer, who
always receives the loudest applause.
It is the warmth of an audience immersed in respect and veneration for his creation.
Last show of the Giorgio Armani Privé fashion show, inspired by the emotions of travel
Color is also the protagonist in one of
Pierpaolo Piccioli
's most emotional collections for Valentino, which moves comfortably between experimentation and modernity: he wanted to show off an illusory Haute Couture, which hides the technique so as not to reveal the magic, as he revealed the same. Far from the 'coquette' aesthetic, he breaks the line to innovate with pants and trench coats with openings, high feathers, mohair coats, structured jackets, silks and infinite openings in the neckline, which achieved its goal: to amaze an audience accustomed to stimuli.
Valentino and its commitment to openings and colors
Daniel Roseberry
always immerses himself in this universe of astonishment
, who since he arrived at the house in 2019 has crowned Schiaparelli on the fashion Olympus. Her
robotic baby
and her dress full of chips, calculators and mobile phones from the pre-iPhone era pay tribute to the Schiaparelli family's fascination with the outer universe, in particular that of the creator's uncle, the astronomer Giovanni, to whom the discovery of the so-called 'channels' of Mars. The collection is a succession of exaggeratedly rounded shoulders, asymmetries, jackets embroidered with imitation horse braids and necklines with dizzying volumes that elevated the
inexhaustible creative proposal
of Roseberry, an expert in stirring the conscience and the senses.
Schiaparelli set the tone for wonder with his baby robot, dotted with chips, calculators and phones from the pre-iPhone era
The sociologist Durkheim already said that rituals help reduce uncertainty and ambiguity in the face of chaos; Haute
Couture
drinks from this ritual and marks its own message against external noise. Femininity was, is and will continue to be inherent, and it is valid
to
review them to adapt them to the new codes, but without falling into cancel culture.
Feminism
Walkways