Paris Couture Week Goes Virtual
Joining the ranks of other notable fashion weeks around the world, designers will showcase their collections online from July 6 to 8
Yet another prominent fashion week within the fashion calendar has made the switch to showcasing industry talent online…
The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode has officially announced Paris Couture Week will be hosted virtually this year. In a press release uploaded to its website on May 28 the Fédération noted that “each house will be represented in the form of a creative film or video,” and additional content will be included in an “editorialized section of the platform.” The content, they confirmed, will be “widely shared on [all] the main international media networks.”
Givenchy Paris Couture Week SS ’18
While it is the latest announcement to shake up a now entirely virtual fashion calendar, there is a sense of wonder as to how the fantastical, detailed experience of haute couture will be conveyed through an online platform.
Armani Couture Week SS ’18
According to the Fédération, which determines what is and isn’t haute couture, one of the primary requirements is that pieces are constructed by hand from start to finish, in a bid to celebrate craftsmanship and impeccable tailoring. However, with members of the Fédération being required to transcend the physicality of their art, it will be interesting to see if they’re able to use a digital portal to their advantage.
While Middle Eastern talent such as Zuhair Murad and Elie Saab, who usually feature in Couture Week have not yet announced whether they will partake in this year’s activities, veterans in the field including Jean Paul Gaultier and Giorgio Armani, have decided to opt out. Gaultier, whose couture business is being handled by Chitose Abe will showcase in January alongside Armani’s couture line, Armani Privé. Balenciaga, who was set to debut its first ever couture collection in 50 years, has also postponed.
Paris Couture Week will run from July 6 to 8. For more information, visit fhcm.paris.
Lead image courtesy of Jason Lloyd Evans / Balmain SS ’19 Haute Couture
