Haute Couture Week in Paris Cleared for Physical Shows
PARIS — Couture week in Paris has been cleared for physical shows and presentations — setting the stage for what could be an electrifying season. Even buzzy designer Kirby-Jean Raymond of Pyer Moss has thrown his in the ring for an undisclosed event.
“Depending on the evolution of the sanitary situation, the physical events may welcome guests in accordance with a specific health protocol and conform to measures determined by public authorities,” according to a statement Tuesday from the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, French fashion’s organizing body.
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It mirrored last week’s announcement that Paris Fashion Week for men’s wear, scheduled for June 22 to 27, would also welcome physical events, conditions allowing.
The coronavirus pandemic has scuttled most physical fashion shows for more than a year, and twice postponed two hotly anticipated couture moments: the return of couture from Balenciaga, 53 years after Spanish master Cristóbal Balenciaga shuttered his house, and a one-off Jean Paul Gaultier couture collection created by Sacai’s Chitose Abe, the first of a series of guest creatives following the founder’s retirement from the runway in January 2020.
Haute Couture Week is to take place from July 5 to 8 in the French capital, and the Fédération said it would publish the provisional schedule during the week of June 7.
So far, only Chanel has confirmed that it plans to stage a display with guests, at the Palais Galliera fashion museum.
Houses that are qualified to use the haute couture appellation are Adeline André, Alexandre Vauthier, Alexis Mabille, Bouchra Jarrar, Chanel, Christian Dior, Frank Sorbier, Giambattista Valli, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, Julien Fournié, Maison Margiela, Maison Rabih Kayrouz, Maurizio Galante, Schiaparelli and Stéphane Rolland, while “corresponding” members include Atelier Versace, Elie Saab, Fendi Couture, Giorgio Armani Privé, Iris Van Herpen, Valentino, Ulyana Sergeenko and Viktor & Rolf.
Guest members this season are Aelis, Azzaro Couture, Balenciaga, Charles de Vilmorin, Christophe Josse, Georges Hobeika, Imane Ayissi, Julie de Libran, Pyer Moss, Rahul Mishra, RVDK Ronald van der Kemp, RR331, Vaishali S, Yuima Nakazato and Zuhair Murad.
The Fédération noted that any live shows and filmed couture presentations in July will continue to be showcased on its digital platform “and will benefit from the global amplification network of our partners.”
Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron laid out a calendar for a gradual unwinding of the third lockdown in France, beginning May 19, when shops, cinemas, theaters and museums will be allowed to reopen, alongside the terraces of cafés, bars and restaurants.
Separately on Tuesday, marquee Paris trade show Tranoï unveiled a partnership with the Fédération to “reinforce the place of Paris as the capital of fashion.”
To that end, it will partner with Paris Fashion Week to organize a physical trade show presenting the collections of international designers. The first edition is to be held at the Palais de Tokyo from June 25 to 27, in tandem with Paris Men’s Fashion Week.
Tranoï and fabric fair Première Vision are subsidiaries of GL Events.
Pascal Morand, executive president of the Fédération, said the partnership “illustrates the strengthening of ties between the different members of our ecosystem in order to assure Paris’ role as the world’s fashion capital.
“With this project, together we’re supporting the business growth of creative brands on a larger scale,” he added.
SEE ALSO:
Digital Fashion Weeks Grapple With Stragglers
Launchmetrics: Paris Remains Capital of Fashion, Digital or Otherwise
Chanel Plans to Stage a Fashion Show With Guests in July
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