I saw a meme this morning that said ‘The AW25 menswear shows could have been an email’ and honestly, while there were a bunch of standouts spanning the likes of Prada, Comme des Garçons, Rick Owens, and Dior, it has admittedly felt like a bit of a damp squib of a season – not least because a swathe of big players like JW Anderson, Loewe, and Fendi sat it out this time around.
Thank the risen lord, then, that on Monday morning (January 27) the Haute Couture circus kicked off, as clients and VIPs piled into the Petit Palais in looks that cost more than your annual rent, with tiny chihuahuas tucked under their arms. Getting things started as ever was Daniel Roseberry at Schiaparelli with a typically opulent collection, before Dior and Chanel did their thing, Alessandro Michele made his Valentino Couture debut, and Ludovic de Saint Sernin linked up with Jean Paul Gaultier.
As ever, we’re rounding up all the mad moments from the shows below.
Schiaparelli SS2533 Images
Like Simon Porte Jacquemus this season, Daniel Roseberry had the Golden Age(s) of Hollywood on his mind for SS25, channelling the style of silver screen legends like Ginger Rogers into a collection that reinterpreted classic silhouettes into something a lot more modern. Taking inspiration from designers like Madame Grès, Charles Frederick Worth, Yves Saint Laurent and Azzedine Alaïa, the Texan designer revealed it wasn’t about copying those that came before, but rather learning from them and translating it in his own way – the collection was entitled Icarus, after the mythological Greek figure who flew too close to the sun, and in someone else’s hands these references might have felt a little too on the nose, but in Roseberry’s they didn’t feel derivative or samey. Revealing he’d been snooping around an antique shop and came across a big inventory of vintage ribbons, Roseberry criss-crossed lengths of nude, rust, mink, and saffron ribbons around the bodies of Alex Consani, Kendall Jenner, and Mona Tougaard, accentuating the hips and bust with sculptural padding. The palette might have been pared back but the garments were as rich in texture as ever, with Japanese bugle beads and glittering crystals adding depth, and feathers dipped in keratin emulating the monkey fur coats once worn by Hollywood’s biggest bombshells.
Dior SS25 couture68 Images
It seems to pay off when Maria Grazia Chiuri veers away from the uber-ladylike codes of the house of Dior and towards something a lot more edgy – for many editors, her 2025 Cruise collection, which saw her reinterpret historic Scottish dress with a punky, subversive twist was among her best. It was good to see her spread her wings again at her SS25 Haute Couture show, held as ever at the Musée Rodin, then, as she left behind the elegant Grecian empire lines of her last couture offering and instead hitch hemlines higher with a series of sculptural, cage-like skirts and mini-crinolines strung with grosgrain ribbon and Mother of Pearl buttons and beads, their tendrils undulating around the models’ legs like swirling jellyfish tentacles. With more looks made up of nipped tailored coats and neat jackets covered with intricate floral embroidery and beadwork, plus trompe l’oeil lace accents, Chiuri explained she’d been thinking of a realm between reality and fantasy, where things weren’t as they seemed – it was all a little Alice’s looking glass in vibe, helped along by some seriously standout hair and beauty that turned the models into animated video game characters.
Chanel SS25 couture55 Images
Since Matthieu Blazy was announced as Chanel’s new creative director last month, there’s been a renewed sense of excitement around the legendary, 116-year-old French maison. Blazy, however, isn’t due to make his debut until the end of this year, meaning the in-house design team still have several collections to show before the brand’s new chapter gets underway. In fact, the team has been creative-director-less since the departure of Virginie Viard last June – though they’re more than capable of producing the full-scale Chanel Haute Couture shows that we’ve grown accustomed to. No one knows the house codes quite like the petites mains (the craftsmen and seamstresses squirrelling away behind the scenes), who stayed loyal to the classic tweeds, Coco cardigan jackets, pussy-bows and intricate, detailed trims. Made up of a mostly pastel colour palette, the collection delivered a needed dose of brightness to the otherwise miserably grey city. The A-list front row had everyone pretty excited too. Kylie Jenner made her debut as a Chanel girly, sandwiched between Pamela Anderson and Jennie Kim, meanwhile mother and daughter duo Vanessa Paradis and Lily-Rose Depp chatted away to Dua Lipa. Whilst we can’t wait to see what Blazy does with the brand’s next chapter, the one we’re currently witnessing is proving to be pretty fun too.
Valentino SS25 couture56 Images
All eyes turned to Valentino as Alessandro Michele prepared to show his second collection for the Italian house since he took over as creative director last year. After making his surprise debut during the womenswear shows back in September, he tried his hand at Haute Couture for the first time. Alessandro may have been at Gucci seven years, but let’s not forget, unlike Valentino, Gucci is not a couture house. Here’s everything you need to know.
