delicate at Giambattista Valli, fantastical at Charles de Vilmorin

The first few days of Paris Haute Couture Week, featuring the collections for Fall/Winter 2024-25, have been characterised by the most ethereal, sophisticated creations. For example at Giambattista Valli, who drew his inspiration from flowers and India, or at Charles de Vilmorin, where the register was more theatrical and fable-like, with an added touch of drama.

On Monday night, Giambattista Valli unveiled a collection that was quite surprising and more pared-down than usual, mostly featuring monochrome tulle and muslin dresses inspired by two main themes: flowers, and a vibrant palette of colours, like golden and saffron yellow, ruby red, fuchsia, crimson, periwinkle purple and light blue.
 
“I adore colours you can almost smell, as though from a flower or fruit that has just been picked. A fresh rose, a mandarin, a marigold with its glint of Far-Eastern sunlight,” said Valli. The Italian designer wanted his collection to be a dialogue between two cultures: Mogul India and its miniatures brimming with luxuriant gardens and botanical details, and the Italian Renaissance with paintings like Sandro Botticelli’s iconic Primavera, with its fruit-laden orange trees and the spring goddess Flora clad in a flowery dress.

Delicate petals were sprinkled on the models’ faces and bodies, and flowers blossomed everywhere: peonies grew out of a bodysuit, and marigolds in pink organza were scattered on a bustier dress, covering it entirely. Elsewhere, a dress was entirely made of embroidered petals. A marigold garland was slipped around a white tulle wedding dress. And cornflowers were sprinkled on a bustier dress. Valli also presented various slinky hooded dresses in lightweight chiffon, decorated with bouquets of flowers.
 
As a live musical accompaniment to the show, the label invited two Indian musicians playing a sitar and a bansuri flute. “At a time of great confusion in politics, history and the economy, I wanted to send a message in favour of dialogue, like a door opening on the future, with this conversation between two cultures involving listening and dialogue,” concluded Valli.

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Charles de Vilmorin launched his ready-to-wear line last season and was absent in January, but was back on the Haute Couture Week runways with a fantastically spectacular collection. Dream or nightmare? An array of grotesque figures, weird animals, disturbing and fairy-tale characters marched across the set, bathed in red light. They seemed to have leapt straight out of a Tim Burton film, Corpse Bride for example, like the bride holding a bouquet of incinerated thistles, accompanied by her groom wearing a shirt with romantic ruffles.
 
Long, tight-fitting evening dresses in black or red, made in taffeta or in classic menswear fabrics, were fastened at the back by corset-style laces, and ended in a long train. A dress’ sleeves were partly stitched to the sides, hampering movement, while swirls of feathers cascaded from the top of the head and down the shoulders. A red silk ensemble with embroidered sequins was trimmed with ostrich feathers. Lavish jacquard dresses with whalebone structure were matched with capes for a princess look. A voluminous parachute-like dress seemed to have been cut out of crumpled paper.
 
“This time, I wanted to use all my expertise to reproduce my designs without resorting to prints,” said de Vilmorin, who is renowned for his artistic mood and surrealist illustrations, talking to FashionNetwork.com backstage. A dress featured sequin-embroidered arabesques, one of the designer’s signature patterns. The collection thrived on volumes, creating them with feathers, oversize headgear, embroidered motifs, and 3D decorative elements.
 
Red and black feathers rose high like wings at the back of a black dress. The brim of a tall black hat extended into coils and spirals around the head, curling like a monocle around one eye. Elsewhere, a curlicued structure was set like screen in front of a near-naked silhouette, and a giant sunshade-style hat hid the model’s head behind long tassels.
 
The collection also included two new footwear models decorated with de Vilmorin’s designs, one a pair of boots and the other a pair of Mary Janes with buckles, made in collaboration with footwear brand Carel.