Watch some of the best runway shows from the autumn-winter 2021 couture week
The past week has been one of the ultimate global celebrations of fashion as France's runways present the most spectacular couture shows of the season. Fashion editors, buyers, socialites, and style fanatics flocked again to the streets of Paris as luxury houses went back to the traditional ways of doing shows, some doing in-person runway presentations despite the COVID-19 climate.
After years of contemporary, street aesthetic, and athleisure style dominating the runways, the fashion community has a renewed love for haute couture. High fashion is among the physical manifestations of escapism with all its beauty and fantasy, and it served the right amount of joy and artistry during the gloomy state brought by the pandemic in the past year. It even pushed many of today's design leaders like Balenciaga's Demna Gvasalia and Fendi's Kim Jones to dip their toes in the world of high fashion.
While haute couture is nothing but a dream for many to wear, or lavishness as one might say, it is still the best depiction of designers' artist side. And after a year of fear and uncertainty, through haute couture "it's still possible to dream... and creativity is alive, well, and thriving," as Elle magazine's Nina Garcia puts it.
Here are some of the best runway shows of autumn-winter 2021 couture week:
Balenciaga
Fendi
Jean Paul Gaultier
Viktor and Rolf
Chanel
Dior
Schiaparelli