Bono van Peursem “Desire”
FW18/19 – PFW Haute Couture

in Fashion Shows, PFW 2313

During the months we were living in Paris, Atelier Neerlandais kind of felt like a little piece of home away from home, as it is an organisation linked with the Dutch Embassy in Paris, offering a platform to Dutch creative initiatives. Among the creative individuals focusing on fashion, young designer Bono van Peursem would be showcasing his first collection here during Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week. After seeing some teasers on his social media, knowing he has completed an internship working in the haute couture atelier of Zuhair Murad, our expectations were quite high. Relatively higher than you would normally anticipate for the first collection from such a young designer (after the show he reminded us that he was actually only 16 when we first met him at Amsterdam Fashion Week 4 years ago) and of course his own outspoken appearrance also plays a role. Show Me More…

Zuhair Murad
FW18/19 – PFW Haute Couture

in Fashion Shows, PFW 3482

As the sweltering summer heatwaves crash into the boulevards lined with Haussmannian apartment buildings, the soaring temperatures and humidity levels in Paris aren’t particularly ideal for dressing up in tailored suits or layers of tule, but hey it’s Fashion Week of course. We definitely can’t show up at the runway show of Zuhair Murad’s 2018/2019 Fall-Winter collection in tank tops and shorts, that would be quite an abomination at such an insanely glamorous presentation and quite damaging to our reputation. All jokes aside, we consider our invites to this show as a promise to a reverie of sparkling dresses, sublime craftsmanship and intricate design. A promise for which his body of work is a declaration of proof. Show Me More…

Galia Lahav “And God Created Woman”
FW18/19 – PFW Haute Couture

in Fashion Shows, PFW 2159

Known for her ravishing gowns and bridal dresses, the haute couture runway show of Galia Lahav was easily the one we were anticipating the most. A household name in bridal, Galia Lahav has made a name for herself with her extravagant and ultra-feminine designs featuring Italian ivory lace, illusion backs and cascading silk tulle skirts. Every season we are excited to watch her runway shows online, so one can image how enthralled we were to receive invites for her Fall-Winter 2018-2019 show at haute Couture Fashion Week in Paris titled “And God Created Woman”. Inviting the audience to experience the freedom, playfulness and womanly allure of their newest collection, the ladies behind the brand – Galia lahav and Sharon Sever- bring us to the French Riviera where the vibrant colors of the seaside served as inspiration for the stunning looks. Some of Sever’s own watercolor drawings were used to design the small and large scaled floral prints, following an aesthetic that follows abstract expressionism and Monet’s impressionism. Show Me More…

Didit Hediprasetyo
FW18/19 – PFW Haute Couture

in Fashion Shows, PFW 2201

As the locations of all of the runway shows for Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week are spread out through the city and never revealed to anyone other than invitees, some of the locations often turn out to be quite surprising. Pulling up to what seems to be a car repair garage, we must say that the location for the runway show of Indonesian designer Didit Hediprasetyo is truly the most unique and unexpected of all. The industrial surroundings of this common workplace form a positively unusual contrast with this highly glamorous event, with hosts welcoming us to the courtyard where we are served cold drinks and ice cream. On a summer day with temperatures climbing up to 32 degrees, we gratefully accept, although we notice that most people are refusing the ice cream as is typical for fashion events. The most common way to keep cool at Paris Fashion Week? We all know that’s waving your invite in your face like a fan, it doesn’t get more stylish than that! Show Me More…

Liu Chao
FW18/19 – PFW Haute Couture

in Fashion Shows, PFW 1512

Stiletto heels, sheer revealing gowns, pink hair, oversized pastel blazers and transparent visors. The fashion-forward looking crowd waiting in front of the American Cathedral doesn’t look like the average church goer at all, with the steel crush barriers in front of the building also looking quite odd and out of place. But everybody knows it’s Haute Couture Fashion Week, so passers-by catch on quick that this most probably has something to do with it. Entering the building, the long wooden benches, tiled floor and limited tall stained glass windows assure the archetypical and somewhat dark and gloomy atmosphere of a cathedral. We definitely applaud China-born Parisian designer Lui Chao for choosing this as the venue for his Fall-Winter 2018-2019 couture fashion show. Show Me More…

Xuan Couture
FW18/19 – PFW Haute Couture

in Fashion Shows, PFW 1530

For as many current fashion designers who are advocates for new technology and high-tech materials, there are others on the other hand who uphold a strong affinity and resulting expertise with noble materials and organic visions. Among the latter is the Dutch-Vietnamese fashion designer Xuan-Thu Nguyen, an AMFI graduate who settled her company “XUAN” in Paris since 2004. The production for XUAN is based in France and the Netherlands, with her Dutch roots explaining her connection to Atelier Nèerlandais where we were invited to see her fall-winter 2018/2019 couture collection during Paris Fashion Week. The elegant white rooms of this historical building are perfect for fashion shows as they regularly take place, but for this show Xuan has chosen a completely different set-up. Show Me More…

Celia Kritharioti
FW18/19 – PFW Haute Couture

in Fashion Shows, PFW 1579

Every time we’re in our car driving through Paris, the scenery of ivory colored renaissance buildings and perfectly maintained parks is such a pleasure to enjoy. Sometimes however, Paris traffic can be a nightmare. Especially when you get stuck in traffic when you’re on your way to something very important. Imagine our frustration when we had moved no more than what seemed like a few inches within half an hour on rue de Rivoli, waving the invites to Celia Kritharioti’s Fall Winter 2018-2019 couture collection in our faces like a fan to keep cool in the summer heat. Normally when we’re invited to the fashion show of a designer we’re not familiar with, we don’t really do much research and just like to be surprised. But in the case of Paris fashion week with the way the schedule often clashes, we ended up with invites to shows occurring at exactly the same time or too close after each other at locations too far apart. Thus, we had to make choices after checking all of the designers out. Show Me More…

Georges Hobeika
FW18/19 – PFW Haute Couture

in Fashion Shows, PFW 1565

What could be a more magical location for our first Haute Couture Fashion Week show than the Theatre National de Chaillot in Trocadero, a lovely marble abode with huge windows allowing a view of the fabulous Eiffel Tower. It’s clear that people have seen the preparations around the building, revealing that Lebanese fashion designer Georges Hobeika will show his Fall/Winter couture collection here. As crowds armed with camera’s start to gather around the entrance, the frantic flashes and sound of clicks are heard all over the place every time a fashionably dressed attendee walks up the steps to enter the venue. We must admit, we felt like true celebrities being welcomed in such a manner too! Show Me More…

Antonio Grimaldi “Punk Queens”
FW18/19 – PFW Haute Couture

in Fashion Shows, PFW 1567

Once upon a time on a sunny summer day in July, Italian fashion designer Antonio Grimaldi presented his Fall-Winter 2018/2019 couture collection at Paris Fashion Week. Being welcomed at the venue, Les Salons France-Amérique, one would definitely feel like wandering into a fairytale. The gorgeous lounge and hallways with hand-painted art on the walls and ceilings give way to the lovely marble stairs with red carpet that we ascend to the grand salon, where we are met with quite the hectic welcoming and seating of guests. After some confusion, we were finally seated in the beautiful gold-trimmed white room. Show Me More…

Sean Suen “Escape Hide Fight”
SS19 – PFW Men’s

in Fashion Shows, PFW 2133

Originally a painter and graphic designer, Beijing based fashion designer Sean Suen transitioned into mastering the art of fashion with this collection as solid proof to our eyes. Launching his label in 2012, his SS19 show at Paris Men’s Fashion Week was our first introduction to Sean Suen’s aesthetic: Amusing, Dynamic and Chic. Pleasantly surprised, we arrived at the location of the fashion show to find out it was set in a small park with pebbled paths between willowing trees. Arriving a little bit too fashionably late, it took a while for us to find a seat on one of the benches aligned along the supposed runway path, as some of the ushers were unsure which route the models would be taking. All confusion aside, we were seated after all and something sure can be said for the fact that everybody had a front row seat as there was only one! Who wouldn’t enjoy a day at the park with a live lookbook passing by? Show Me More…