Cloak and Dagger: Viktor & Rolf’s Couture Return

It's been thirteen years since designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren held a couture show, but they know what they're doing — yesterday, WWD reported that half their collection was already sold to an unnamed client before it even walked. And it was easy to see why: Their spare, voluminous black cloaks and dresses are just right for a very specific woman who wants drama without flash. The Dutch designers presented only twenty looks in all — one for every year they've worked together — on a catwalk printed with raked stones, like a Japanese garden. Call it wizard chic, or Zen glamour; these technically masterful garments are worth a close look.

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Gaultier Couture Gowns Ideal for Snack-Stashing

If models at today's Jean Paul Gaultier show wanted to keep an extra meal on hand for convenience, then they were in luck: Most of the dresses had enormous pockets, some so large you could fit a whole picnic in there. In fact, putting stuff in there could be risky, because it might get lost in those giant quilted folds, and the next thing you know you've got a three-day-old sandwich kicking around in your skirt.

But in all seriousness, this show was fun and over-the-top in all of Gaultier's usual ways, which was nice to see as he gears up to launch a more commercial diffusion line, Gaultier2. Just because he's trying to tap into the mass consumer market doesn't mean he's abandoning his wacky couture designs. (Our only qualm: Where was Andrej Pejic?)

Other highlights: leopard-print everything, including tights and sequined jackets. The show concluded with French reality TV star Nabilla Benattia, who danced down the catwalk in a padded bustier and Cindy Lou Who hair. Tacky in the best way, as always.

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Lace Goes Dark With Valentino’s Dramatic Couture

The couture collection at Valentino today was ornate, ladylike, and slightly menacing. As models swept down a runway that looked like the corridor of a mansion (nice touches of taxidermy!), all that lace, herringbone, and satin took a moodier turn. For instance, gold lace quickly went from girlish to resplendent to menacing when shot through with blood-red embroidery.

All told, each look was reminiscent of what Jane Eyre might wear had she had access to couture: dark, stormy, Victorian. Especially one ball gown whose gorgeous oxblood velvet bodice was attached to a full skirt with a print inspired by a cabinet of curiosity. The daywear was lovely in an almost Hitchock way, with suits in bookish herringbone and camel plaid. And since the true lady makes an impression coming and going, the back view of the items — like a vixen-ish peekaboo black lace dress — was often more gasp-worthy than the front. Click through our slideshow for a closer look.

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Zoom on Couture: Valentino, Margiela, and More

Couture may only be a brief few days but each spectacular show is filled with intricate details begging for a second glance. Today at Valentino, models resembled modern-day Renaissance princesses, clad in elaborate lace and fur-trimmed gowns, herringbone tweed cloaks, and sumptuous embroidered silks and jacquards. The closing gown combined rich wine velvet with a skirt covered in all manners of flora and fauna. Over at Maison Martin Margiela, the theme was elegant kitsch; masks came in an array of materials, including one over-the-top creation covered in flowers that merged seamlessly to form a breastplate of sorts.

Shows traditionally close with the presentation of the la mariée, and Elie Saab and Jean Paul Gaultier offered up two very different visions of the bride. At Saab, it was pure glitz and glamour with a sparkling gold veil so massively encrusted with rhinestones, it required three bridesmaids to adequately assist the bride as she made her grand entrance. Gaultier went the humorous route, citing a Fellini film on circus performers as an inspiration with a clown-like hat taking the place of a veil and a voluminous jumpsuit in lieu of a gown. Naturally, the leg had a hearty heaping of beading. Click ahead to see these, along with what you may have missed so far, in greater detail.

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Elegant Kitsch on Display at Maison Margiela Couture

The secondhand vintage on display at Maison Martin Margiela couture show was as elegant as it was playfully weird. As usual, the elusive Belgian designer collective kept his models' identity under wraps with face-masks; this time, they were beaded, sequined, and adorned with fabric flowers. Those brilliantly exaggerated masks, paired with a collection made from reworked vintage fabrics and appliques, continued to demonstrate the house's expertise when it comes to tailoring. As noted by WWD, they might have presented the greenest collection this week by recycling decades-old clothing.

Rare finds, like pastel fifties-era prom dresses, were reworked into cheerful, sheer voluminous coats; a costume worn by a thirties-era Beijing Opera star was turned into a sumptuous floor-length smoking jacket. To switch it up even more, Margiela also threw in high-concept casual looks including low-slung jeans and modern latex trench coats, T-shirts, and pants that actually looked wearable. Click through our slideshow for all the floral and bedazzled masks you can handle.

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Leopard-Print Hair at Jean Paul Gaultier Couture

Everyone, Jean Paul Gaultier has an announcement to make: More leopard print. Exemplified at his couture show, the French designer decked out hats, fur coats, floor-length dresses, clutches, and even wrists in the jungle print. Nothing was safe, not even models' hair, which were be-speckled with the animal's signature spots. While some heads sported sleek, aerodynamic twists, topped off with hats in various conical shapes, those without headgear got sky-high 'dos. Swirly and sculptural, it's possibly part Cindy Lou Who, part The Jungle Book, and we can't wait to see it on Madonna.

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Chanel Couture: Karl’s ‘Stocking Shoes,’ and Other Shiny Solutions to Our Dirty World

Today's Chanel couture show, titled "The Old World and the New World," was all about contrasting the grimy, dilapidated present with a gleaming future full of impeccable models. Guests sat in creaky wooden chairs that were painted to look dusty; the effect was so realistic that publicists had to reassure guests like Rihanna and Kristen Stewart that it was indeed safe to park their Chanel-clad butts on them. Meanwhile, the floor of the Grand Palais was strewn with dirt and rubble, and the windows were made to appear broken. Then, when the show began, curtains parted to reveal a gleaming, Oz-type city on a raised stage.

Karl's utopian future.

Models emerged from this utopian backdrop in stiff, futuristic version of Chanel staples like tailored jackets and long prim dresses, rendered in reflective silver and white fabrics. The prints were pixellated and geometric, while hairdos and hats were square-shaped. The future, according to Karl, is shiny and clean and full of right angles.

Another highlight: What appeared to be some combination of leggings and/or very tight thigh-high boots were actually held up by garters, according to WWD — Karl is calling them “stocking shoes," which is a mouthful, so we shall call them shockings. Click through to see the full collection in our slideshow.

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Up Close on Couture: Giambattista, Chanel, and More

Haute couture is all about the details and execution of the most improbably beautiful clothes in the world, of which there was plenty to pore over so far. Yesterday, Giambattista Valli presented a collection that appealed to the princess in all of us with a parade of cocktail dresses, the most stunning of which featured a sky-blue silk gazar skirt almost shirred in an all-over style to reveal a crystal-embellished taffeta silk skirt beneath. There were also raw silk chiffon blossoms found on the shoulders of evening gowns. Sometimes they completely covered a bodice; other times they seemed windswept in a cascade along a gown's train.

At Chanel, one look stood out with its metallic mirror embroidery, but what caught our eye were the tiny rings worn along the knuckles of each finger. Over at Alexis Mabille, it was taffeta silk capes that were most memorable. Click ahead to see all that and more.

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Jourdan Dunn’s Breasts ‘Too Big’ for Dior Couture

Dior finally showed some diversity on their runway this season, skin color-wise, but physically their models were as skinny as ever. In fact, the sample sizes were so small that even Jourdan Dunn, who is by no means a chesty girl, couldn't fit her breasts into them. On Sunday she tweeted, "Ahahahahahaha I just for cancelled from Dior because of my boobs! I? fashion #Couture." She added, "I'm normally told I'm cancelled because I'm 'coloured' so being cancelled because off my boobs is a minor : ) [sic]." Progress: Runway models are now allowed to be black, as long as they don't have any bust to speak of. 

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Double Hair Croissants at Armani Privé Couture

The models at Armani Privé's couture show are one slouchy opera glove and cigarette holder away from looking like ladies of the manor. You know the type: They lounge about in boudoirs, own actual feather mules, and are prone to fainting spells. The makeup at Armani isn't overly done. It's refined: There's a bit of rouge on the cheeks and lips, plus a defined brow. And the hair, while it looks loose and wispy in front, has plenty of care and consideration that went into the back, by way of a swirled hair croissant. Two of them, actually. Meanwhile, the Downton Abbey ladies are all like, "Been there, done that." 

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Was the Hair at Chanel Couture Inspired by Kid ’n Play?

At the Chanel couture show, there were piles of rubble, Rihanna in an ankle-length cardigan, and models with flattops. The boxy, gravity-defying do was born in the fifties (by way of the crew cut) and exaggerated in the eighties by Will Smith (from the Fresh Prince years), Bobby Brown, and Christopher Reid (one half of Kid ’n Play). Reid was a notable adopter of the style, so maybe hairstylist Sam McKnight was inspired by him? Or, since the dos had ponytails, perhaps they were modeled after Lagerfeld's signature locks? Either way, we've included a music video by the rap group to jog your hip-hop memory. Click on that, then through the runway slideshow for a heightened couture experience. Oh-la-oh-la-eeey.

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Dior Couture: A Chorus of Multicultural Notes

With each consecutive showing at Christian Dior, Creative Director Raf Simons seems to be letting himself explore a little further from the brand's past, this time incorporating a globe-spanning array of cultural references for fall 2013 couture. Of course, he continues to reference Dior's archives, but updates classic silhouettes with a fresh, multicultural slant. Paris's New Look was evident in a grey two-piece skirt and strapless peplum top paired with ladylike leather gloves. America's casual prep emerged in formal stripes and a couture twist on the lazy, half-tucked white button-down shirt. A red, pleated, multitiered gown and Kimono-shaped coats paid tribute to Asia, while gowns in bold primary colors reminiscent of African tribal garb were paired with neck plates. And what international wardrobe would be complete without an outrageously beautiful mink evening gown? Leelee Sobieski and the current face of Dior, Jennifer Lawrence, and her serious, showstopping culottes looked on with pleasure. Click through our slideshow to see all of that and Alex Wek in a sleek, sheer black plaid dress.

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Christian Lacroix Is Back! What to Expect From His Couture Collection

The couture shows are next week! And kicking them off will be Christian Lacroix, king of all things tulle and puffy and bow-covered, who returns to the schedule for the first time after his label's sad implosion in 2009. He's in charge of reviving the long-dormant House of Schiaparelli, which is currently owned by Tod's president Diego Della Valle, who bought the trademark seven years ago. The 18-piece collection, presented on mannequins in Les Arts Decoratifs, is a one-off for Lacroix; he'll then step aside to make way for a permanent creative director, rumored to be Rochas's Marco Zanini.

Since closing his bankrupt business (the photo above is from his last couture show), Lacroix has busied himself with a myriad of design projects, including luxury hotel decorations and knickknacks for the Louvre's gift shops. This collection will reflect his flair for theatrics and historical appropriation. He tells WWD, "It’s as if it was a musical about Schiaparelli, and I’m in charge of the costumes," adding that he shares many tastes with the late designer, whose name recognition got a boost from last year's Schiaparelli-and-Prada-themed Met Gala:

Fun! Although it is a little sad that he's not using live models. Let's not forget this is the man who used to put Carla Bruni in outfits like this:

Anyway, expect the unexpected! WWD adds that the collection won't be sold, which means it's purely for spectacle's sake — the best kind of couture presentation, in other words.

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