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CHLOE MALLE
HEAD OF EDITORIAL CONTENT, VOGUE U.S.
@CHLOEMALLE
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CHLOE MALLE
HEAD OF EDITORIAL CONTENT, VOGUE U.S.
@CHLOEMALLE
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It was hot in Paris, but on with the chaud I say! Paris Couture Week ended Wednesday evening, but it now carries on to Rome with Fendi today and Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda over the weekend in Sicily.
Teen Vogue Fest is only two weeks away! I’m so excited about the line-up, from Anok Yai, fresh off couture runways to Benito Skinner and Sadie Sink. And I’ll be interviewing Practical Magic 2 stars Maisie Williams and Joey King. Here’s a special Malle Wear 20% off code to buy tickets now: MWVTVF20. |
Only Fans
Like the menswear shows in late June, couture presentations in Paris were hot, hot, and, in this case, haute. Every show included a fan as an invitation (or as a favor, laid on guests’ seats) and each was a brand personality pic: round and see-through at Jean Paul Gaultier and made of black silk with dangling beads at Dior, of white muslin at Chanel, and of pearl-grey paper at Armani. (I brought them all home for my kids who have been reenacting the matchmaker scene from Mulan with them.) I love couture because it feels like pure fashion magic and fantasy but also because it centers the real fans: the actual clients! I love to see what these women (and men) respond to and what they wear to the shows. |
Wedding Belles
It’s a tradition for many houses to close their couture show with a wedding dress. Karl Lagerfeld famously did this and his “brides” were always anticipated. Matthieu Blazy turned the tradition around for his fairy-tale reimagining and placed a wedding dress—actually a millefeuille top and skirt—in the middle of his show. He then closed with a black, off-the-shoulder “revenge dress,” he called it, because the wedding isn’t always the end of the story. Meanwhile, at Dior, everyone was speculating about Jonathan Anderson’s ethereal, fern-embroidered wedding creation, wondering if it gave any clues as to what Taylor Swift’s Dior Haute Couture wedding dress looked like. |
Anok on Lock
Couture week saw all the big models walk the runways, from Gigi Hadid ensconced in a feathered Balenciaga hood, to Vittoria Ceretti and Mona Tougaard transformed into Chanel scarecrows. Anok Yai opened and closed Balenciaga and we have an excellent—and emotional—interview with Anok, conducted by Chioma Nnadi, over on The Run-Through, tied to the model’s recent British Vogue cover. |
Courtside Classics
Across the channel, Wimbledon is heading into its final weekend. Wimbledon is the best-dressed of the tennis grand slams and I love seeing courtside style, from the polka-dot day dresses to linen suiting. British Vogue hosted a chic lunch with Ralph Lauren and I loved the sharp suiting on Emma Corrin, Sienna Miller, and our very own Chioma Nnadi. |
Paris Pick-Me-Ups
I was only in Paris for three days so I didn’t have much time for anything beyond shows, meetings, and jewelry presentations but I did manage to nip into some of my favorite shops, mostly to get things for my kids. I picked up some cherry-embroidered shorts for Alice at Monoprix, stocked up on pajamas at Petit Bateau, and went to my favorite dollhouse miniatures store, Pain D'épices. I also checked out the new stationery store Papier Royal and was mesmerized watching the engraver make custom monograms in the window. |
Library Lions
Karl Lagerfeld’s old photo studio is preserved as a bookstore and event space called 7L; it has soaring ceilings and books are stacked all the way to the top. I find it to be one of the most soothing places I’ve ever been, like being swaddled in books. We were there to celebrate Derek Blasberg’s new photo book, Fast and Louche, compiling the columns he wrote from 2009-2012 for Interview—all about partying in New York pre-Instagram and pre-smartphones. The book is a great time capsule and he brought out a great crowd, many of whom scampered nearby to Lauren Santo Domingo’s house on the left bank where she served croque monsieurs in Derek-branded paper sleeves. |
Debut Delights
There were exciting couture debuts this week: Pierpaolo’s first for Balenciaga, Duran Lantink at Jean Paul Gaultier (a show I loved), Michael Stewart’s inaugural couture collection at Standing Ground, and Maria Grazia’s opening act for Fendi. French Vogue’s Head of Editorial Content, Claire Thomson-Jonville, Vogue’s Chief Critic Sarah Mower and I met at the Vogue offices straight after Balenciaga to talk about all those and more on our couture pod out today. |
Slim Pickings
Both the menswear shows and the couture shows seemed to confirm the growing influence of GLP-1s on fashion and modeling; even the silhouettes are slimmer. Rory Satran reported on this phenomenon for Vogue and spoke to models who grappled with how the weight-loss drugs have made the industry sizing untenable and, frankly, unhealthy. It’s always refreshing to see the designers that do have diverse, healthy casting in their shows. |
Charismatic MegaFauna
July couture week is also when all the jewelry brands show their “high jewelry” collections. I loved seeing all the crazy stones and imaginative creations—so many of them shaped into fantastical animals. That extended to the collections as well: an armadillo purse at Dior, a chubby hen at Chanel, squid tentacles at Schiaparelli. |
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