Your Best & Worst Collections of Haute Couture F/W 2023.24

[vogue28]

Quite a strong haute couture season, IMO. A little deflated the festivities are now over!

I've loved Schiaparelli, Chanel, Alexandre Vauthier, Giorgio Armani Privé, Elie Saab, Zuhair Murad, Balenciaga and Fendi - so a fair few. Admittedly, I wasn't too fond of Jean Paul Gaultier.

What have been some of your personal highs and lows?

 

[Koibito]

My best: Armani Privé and Schiaparelli.

Don’t have a worst one, but Chanel, Dior, Fendi, Valentino are meh!

Off topic: Only one nepo baby walked this season and we had many old faces coming back. That made this season amazing at some point.

 

[avonlea002]

Best: Armani Privé, JPG by Dossena
Good: Dior, Alexandre Vauthier
Whatever: Fendi, Zuhair Murad, Elie Saab, Balenciaga, Rolland
Bad: Valentino, Chanel, Schiaparelli
Worst: Vilmorin, IvH and the Libran girl

 

[yslforever]

A lot of "couturasses" and few "couturières":

Couturiers; JPG by Dossena, Pieter Muller, Armani, Saab, Browne, Roseberry, Gupta, I enjoyed van der Kemp, and Vauthier, who should go to YSL.

Couturasses: Viard, PPP, Murad, Valli, Mabille, Viktor & Rolf, Vilmorin, maybe Demna, Kim Jones certainly... MGC should never have a CD position, she should have stayed in a purely marketing position, branding bags in all the anagrams and graphics of DIOR she could find, and designing shopping bags and shoe boxes.

But that's for Couture this week, as "couturières" I would like to see in HC week; Galliano, Ghesquière, Theyskens, Dries (I dream of van Noten HC), Gaultier himself, Yamamoto (even if it makes little commercial sense).

 

[gallianostan]

best: armani privé; dossena for gaultier

surprisingly bearable: dior; fendi (i know i'll get raked across the coals for that one)

inoffensive: vauthier

trash: nearly all the other houses

worse than trash: balenciaga

worse than whatever is worse than trash: thom browne

rock bottom: ir*s v*n h*rpen

 

[Cocteau Stone]

Best: Armani, Dossena for Gaultier and Vauthier. Despite some faults and some odd pieces, what worked in these collections worked so well that the shortcomings were easily passed upon. The Gaultier collab isn't an easy feat either, the balance between archival references and injection of their own pov is a fine line to balance so will never please everyone.

Good: Dior and Saab. Great dressmaking is easy to to appreciate in my eyes, lets you know they have awareness of how their ateliers/petite mains operate. If only MGC could inject some of that into the RTW just a tad more.

The rest was really lackluster, and I question what many of the designers understand as couture from a technical perspective alone. Mind you, the FHCM has been a bit overzealous with the guest invites. Was easily exhausted watching the shows so soon after the men's collections.

 

[Lola701]

Julien Dossena had the best collection of the season.

I really liked Schiaparelli this time…

But If I was a client, Alexandre Vauthier and Armani Prive would be my choice. I think I subscribe to that kind of Couture. It was not perfect all the way but between the fabulous pantsuits, tuxedos and blouses of Alexandre Vauthier and the Brutally expensive simplicity of the some of the gowns at Armani Price, you have there the perfect Couture wardrobe of the season.

‘The rest was either boring or felt like a caricature that brands will try to sell us through the number of hours necessary for the making of the clothes.

L’Allure Couture is what we missed this season unfortunately.

 

[Salvatore]

I thoroughly enjoyed Armani Privé as well as a lot of Alexandre Vauthier. Gaultier by Dossena was okay. Schiaparelli is growing on me when I remove some of the accessories. The rest I do not really remember.

The rest was either boring or felt like a caricature that brands will try to sell us through the number of hours necessary for the making of the clothes.

L’Allure Couture is what we missed this season unfortunately.

Exactly this. So many houses are so concerned with how many hours something took, but in my brain I say « all those hours and THAT’s the result …. ? » And for sure the seductiveness and whimsy from couture is missing. I don’t dream and want to get up close to some of these pieces like I did 20 years ago. Who will bring back the allure ?

 

[fenty]

I really enjoyed Schiaparelli, Alexandre Vauthier & Ashi Studio everyone else was a chop especially Dior & Balenciaga.

also I dont know if Alaïa was considered couture or ready-to-wear but I loved that collection as well.

 

[LadyJunon]

The Best:
Gaultier by Dossena was the star this season just for the first three passages alone. The Gaultier references were quite literal, but it was done very passionately. The whole experience threw me back to those times of watching mid to late 00s Lacroix, Gaultier, Galliano, Theyskens shows. It's the type of fashion that made me fall in love with fashion and the sort of fashion I wish to create one day.
Schiaparelli has really grown to fill the hole that Galliano and McQueen have left gaping open and I really thank Roseberry for that. I also thank Della Valle for supporting this sort of vision.
Alexandre Vauthier was just really good. Well executed. Sensual. Beautiful.
Armani Privé was obscenely expensive and judging by the visuals, justifiably so. He also does red extremely well.

The Worst:
Chanel was flat and deflated, like most of Virginie's collections. The flou looked thin and threadbare, while the tailleur looked like stiff cardboard. I pray that the Wertheimers finds a new creative director soon. They're in the rare situation where they have both the size and the independence to take a risk.
Valentino was tiring to watch. The execution, creatively and technically, is gradually getting more and more sloppy with each show. The Chateau de Chantilly location made the whole thing even more tedious to watch.
Iris Van Herpen was just gross looking and weird. It feels really tired and dated at this point.

Honourable Mentions:
Dior and Elie Saab may be severely lacking in an innovative creative vision, the craftsmanship those two houses presented were second to none.
Charles de Vilmorin has an interesting vision, but his and his Studio Director's technical skills held him back by a lot.
Viktor and Rolf's 30th anniversary was quite interesting, but the suffered from their very singular interpretation of bathing suits and tuxedos.

 

[Urban Stylin]

DG having the people from the village standing carrying heavy items during the show was a vulgar show of elitisism using them as live props IMO.

 

[Mutterlein]

Best: Dior, Schiaparelli, Gaultier, Armani Prive

Worst: Valentino, Charles de Vilmorin

Bored to Deathlehem: Giambattista Valli, Balenciaga, Chanel

 

[Nimsay]

Vauthier was prob the best since we got a enmeshment of craftsmanship and an actual proposition.

Dior was the best made. Absolutely exquisite. MGC gave us a hint of proposition so thats an improvement.

Dolce was also among the best made but I dont even remember it outside of the 3D printed tops at the end.

Armani was amazing but only for Armani couture client that got her blazer stained and needs a new one. since it is all the same… in the old days Armani wouldnt even be discussed and assumed to be boring but exquisitely made - thats how bad things are.

Chanel was atrocious the worst by far simply because theres no excuse for such shoddy workmanship. Someone needs to empower the Premieres to override Virginies fabric choices.

Fendi was atrocious. Among the worst. Good for KJ standards. Sylvia Fendi seemed embarassed to be there. After working with Karl all her life she has a good sense for what works and what doesnt.

Valentino seemed to be a streamlining of already popular couture looks. Not really worth seeing AGAIN but very wearable not the less.

schiaparelli is Couture Heatherette. If John was still going full bore at Dior - Schiap would be like jokes. Fashion is in dire straits.

gaultier was ok. It felt very Cavalli to me. I got that sort of 00s vibe everyone discussed but it felt Cavalli not Galliano.


Balenxiaga was the absolute worst.

 

[Kite]

Guys....Armani!? ARMANI......Armani?

ARMANI........?

voguerunway

 

[Nimsay]

That skirt is unreal.

 

[avonlea002]

Guys....Armani!? ARMANI......Armani?

ARMANI........?

I love this look.

 

[Kite]

it is truly one of the Worst Armani collections of the 2010+'s

 

[Cerise Vendome]

Best: Elie Saab, Giambattista Valli, Armani Prive

Mixed Feelings: Thom Browne, Zuhair Murad, Dolce & Gabbana, Gaultier

Meh: Fendi, Dior, Chanel, Alexis Mabille

Worst: Balenciaga, Victor & Rolf,

P. S.: Where was Margeila? I know they only show for fall but this was fall so why didn’t they show? Am I missing something?