While the Milan and Paris men’s shows had many references to the ongoing Euro tournament in Germany with football jerseys at Fendi or Louis Vuitton where the models even wore cleats on the grass runway at the UNESCO headquarters, the Haute Couture season looked at the noble spirit of friendly competition which is the core of the Olympic games. While Paris is becoming more and more chaotic to navigate as some of its most beautiful sites are used during the games – Pont Alexandre III, Trocadéro, Concorde – and traffic has come to a standstill, the shows were very hit and miss. Sure, there are the big houses like Dior and Chanel who cater to actual clients but then there are shows with a handful of influencers and peripheral press where one wonders why they take place, or they are the vanity fair of the designer often hailing from cash rich Arab countries. It’s all about being in Paris.

Then there are branding exercises like the Alexis Mabille show who kept his audience for more than 90 minutes in the Lido cabaret on the Champs-Élysées for which he provided the new decoration.

Christian Dior‘s creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri showed that one of her best skills as a couturière is draping. Her Grecian or Olympic inspired column dresses with draped shoulders looked regal and strong.

Thom Browne deconstructed his signature suiting in the most compelling visual way and showed how much he deserves to be on the Paris calendar while his sense for theatrics with gold, silver and bronze medal outfits for his finale made the show simply a bit too long.

Giambattista Valli is a wonderful designer who plays with colors in a finessed way and keeps his volumes in check. We felt he was much copied on other runways with his signature cocoon backs.

Giambattista Valli F/W 2024 Haute Couture

Chanel was fresh, clear, and good judging from the pictures of the show at the Palais Garnier, a welcome new backdrop.

Charles de Vilmorin – original Couture wunderkind – was one of the highlights of the week. Spinning an Agatha Christie inspired whodunit tale where models symbolized death in black or blood in red really brought out his deft hand at tailoring and mismatching fabrics.

Charles de Vilmorin F/W 2024 Haute Couture

Giorgio Armani is in stellar form with a Great Gatsby like show where pearls took center stage in necklaces, hats and jackets and made for an ultra-refined Giorgio Armani Privé show. Armani clearly stands out for his clear and good taste for women’s clothing.

Pearl-heavy collection 

Viktor & Rolf compete for the best show of the week where they took the theme of abstraction to new heights by inserting triangles in tops.

Robert Wun is an interesting addition to the schedule with his Haute Couture men’s wear. He celebrated his brands’ 10th year anniversary, presenting another one of his renowned “bodily” collections entitled “Time”.

Patou‘s creative director Guillaume Henry closed the week by cleverly placing his show at the end where he showed a beautiful and refined lineup of French elegance worthy of a stroll in Deauville or any elegant sea bath in the world.

Patou S/S 2025 RTW