IT'S SHOWTIME

There’s so much to cheer for this season, says Jacquie Ang. For one thing, it marks haute couture’s triumphant return to physical shows after a dalliance with digital. And for another, it welcomes the revival of a legendary atelier, with a new caretaker to capture the zeitgeist.

BALENCIAGA

“The relaunch of a couture line will offer the highest creative and qualitative level of product to our customer, as well as complete my multilayered vision for Balenciaga the brand, which ranges all the way up from streetwear to conceptual fashion and wardrobe and ultimately into one-of-a-kind, made to-measure couture pieces… Couture is the highest level of garment construction that is not only relevant in today’s mass-production industry, but even absolutely necessary for the survival and further evolution of modern fashion.”

– DEMNA GVASALIA, on bringing haute couture back to the Maison 53 years after founder Cristóbal Balenciaga left the fashion industry. The successor marks his haute couture debut with Balenciaga’s 50th Couture Collection. Deftly blurring demarcations of past, present, and future, he transforms the parka into an enigmatic opera coat in satin faille with a hoodie structured to frame the face. Inspired by an archival look, it reflects the founder’s masterful architectural construction while casting Gvasalia’s maverick eye on the modern dressing. No wonder Rihanna chose this for her statement-making entrance at the Met Gala 2021.

CHANEL

“It was when I rediscovered these portraits of Gabrielle Chanel dressed up in black or white 1880s-style dresses that I immediately thought about tableaux. Works by Berthe Morisot, Marie Laurencin and Édouard Manet. There are Impressionist-inspired dresses, skirts that look like paintings and a long white satin dress punctuated with black bows like Morisot’s…”