Paris, three days, the world’s finest ateliers. The conditions were ripe for red carpet candidates at the Spring 2013 Couture shows. Runways filled with haute couture gowns largely embraced a garden motif, though interpreted it in different ways. Raf Simons, the newly-anointed creative savant behind Christian Dior, sent out a number of crisp, ballet-length dresses—perfect for unfussy, young starlets—down a set of groomed hedges.
At Chanel, a more brooding, still exquisite Germanic treatment of floral with an emphasis on shoulders and imperfection—perhaps a welcome alternative to the mermaid ball gown’s more recent monopoly of Oscars night.
Then, Valentino whisked us from organic foliage to the strict dimensions of 18th-century French formal gardens, presenting designs inspired by wrought iron gates and geometric flower beds. An Oscar nominee plotting to one-up Gwyneth Paltrow’s much-lauded Tom Ford cape and gown combination from last year’s red carpet may want to take note: A certain black tulle ‘iron work’ cape by Valentino was so imaginatively crafted, it elicited spontaneous applause during the presentation, and that doesn’t happen very often.
To see the other top gowns from Paris Couture Week, click on the slideshow.
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