(ETX Daily Up) – Who would have thought? Adored by the public, coveted by the greatest luxury houses, the guests in the first row were upstaged by surprise guests during the first fashion shows of Parisian haute couture week. Wolf wolves at Schiaparelli, corgis at Chanel, a blue whale at Rahul Mishra: the real stars of these shows are none other than the animals, for better or for worse.
Nature is an inexhaustible source of inspiration for those involved in fashion, but until now we had rarely seen so many animals gathered on the catwalks of haute couture week… in just two days. Like an ode to wildlife threatened by global warming, a nod to the return of certain wild species to the capital, or a simple coincidence, animals are currently putting on a show on Parisian catwalks. A choice that is not (necessarily) unanimous depending on how they are highlighted. From Schiaparelli to Chanel, an overview of these great houses that have transformed their collection into a life-size bestiary.
Schiaparelli’s Surrealism
Tradition obliges, it was the house of Schiaparelli that opened this week entirely dedicated to haute couture, and it is clear that this first parade had its small effect. A true tribute to the surrealist fashion of its founder, designer Elsa Schiaparelli, whose lobster dress has become a signature, the show was inspired this time by a major work, “Dante’s Inferno”, and more particularly animals savages encountered by Dante as he wanders into a dark forest. And it was Kylie Jenner, a prestigious guest installed in the front row, who was the first to create the surprise, showing off in front of the crowd in a sumptuous black strapless dress adorned with an oversized lion’s head. An outfit that generated exclamations and whispers, before the first silhouettes of the collection were revealed on the catwalk.
Irina Shayk with the same lion’s head as the youngest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, Naomi Campbell with a wolf’s head, Shalom Harlow with a leopard’s head… The silhouettes follow one another and lift the veil on a wild bestiary that has never left indifferent person. While Schiaparelli’s new collection includes some thirty silhouettes, it is these dresses in particular that have gone around the web – and even more so on social networks – in just a few hours, provoking admiration, emotion, and public anger – it depends.
Peta came out quickly after the show, with mixed reactions. The American Animal Rights Association cell praised the parade: “Kylie’s look celebrates the beauty of lions and can be a statement against trophy hunting, in which families of lions are torn apart to satisfy selfishness. human,” Ingrid Newkirk, president of Peta, told TMZ magazine. While the French branch rather denounced this creative orientation: “Although art, including fashion, can be subjective, Schiaparelli’s assertion that ‘no animals were harmed’ in the making of this collection is objectively false. (…) Silkworms were boiled alive and sheep were exploited for their fleeces to obtain the silk and wool used in the making of these garments,” she said. Critics or congratulations, it doesn’t matter, the spotlight brought to this bestiary has caused a lot of ink to flow.
Chanel and Rahul Mishra in poetic mode
Another atmosphere at Chanel at the Grand Palais Ephémère, where the scenography sets the tone. The guests were able to discover a more minimalist decor than usual composed of a bestiary of “larger than life” sculptures by the French visual artist Xavier Veilhan. At stake ? A camel, an elephant, and of course a lion, an animal dear to Gabrielle Chanel, gradually gave way to the first models who themselves wore outfits embroidered with animals from this poetic and magical bestiary. The two most striking pieces are none other than a suit whose jacket is adorned with a corgi all in sequins – a nod to Queen Elizabeth II who died last September? – and the traditional wedding dress, worn by Anna Ewers, mini version, revealing a flight of swallows.
It is to the marine fauna that the designer Rahul Mishra pays homage for his spring-summer 2023 haute couture collection, entitled “Cosmos”. All in embroidery, the dresses as delicate as they are sculptural reveal in turn a whale, schools of fish, jellyfish, or even seaweed and a few shells. The highlight of the show? An imposing dress taking (straightforward) the shape of a jellyfish. A meticulous work that again celebrates animals, although marine, and highlights a fantastic universe. It now remains to be discovered whether other houses have planned to put the spotlight on these animals which, let’s remember, are threatened by global warming.