The fashion world had long been waiting for the Spring Summer 2022 Haute Couture Fashion Week. In a time where we're just getting out of the pandemic, getting excited about haute couture and the artistry of fashion may seem inappropriate and improper. But perhaps it is precisely at this moment we are in need of the splendour and grandeur of couture, so that we might dare to dream a little again.

Here are the most celebrated collections of this year's Spring Summer 2022 Couture Week — and how they relate to today's sentiments.

Schiaparelli — escapism extraordinaire

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We are in need of escapism — and Schiaparelli brings it. The last few years, Schiaparelli's couture shows have become the moment suprême during fashion week and this year was no different. For Spring Summer 2022 Couture Week, Daniel Roseberry presented his couture collection in a dramatic palette of white, black and the signature Maison Schiaparelli gold. The collection is Roseberry's answer to the uncertainties caused by the pandemic and a changing mood of today's sentiment. Because "what does surrealism mean when reality itself has been redefined?” Instead of going bold, the collection is restrained and refined. “Suddenly, colour felt wrong to me. So, did volume. All of the tricks that couture designers, including me, use to communicate grandeur and craftsmanship — big silhouettes, glorious poufs of fabric, huge volume — felt hollow.” Instead, Roseberry chose to create a collection focused on statement designs with elaborate details. Titled "An Age of Discipline", the collection featured strong silhouettes, corseted waists, structured wools and mesmerising ornaments caged in the mix. There's a refreshing simplicity in the soft crepes flowing by and yet the intricate golden ornaments and grand silhouettes evoke a sense of escapism into an ethereal wold far away.

Jean Paul Gaultier — refreshing romance

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In a time of missed intimacy and connections, romance is the sentiment we seek. The house of Jean Paul Gaultier is known for their Victorian era corsetry and hourglass shaped designs and Glenn Martens sought to honour that signature for Spring Summer 2022 Couture Week. “This is a celebration of Gaultier. I’ve stayed close to the woman Jean Paul created in the past — pure diva goddess beauty, hips, whatever, all that drama he loved. I’m building on that through what I think of his iconic Gaultier moments." The collection featured cinched up waists, lavish silks in overflow, laced up bodices, all in a muted down colour palette of cream, white, green, mauve and black. Although the strong silhouettes are in memory of the structured Jean Paul Gaultier designs, Marten adds a layer of nonchalance that feels refreshing to the house's iconic DNA. The romance that the collection evokes is everything our Bridgerton-esque minds need to drift off into our own 22nd century ball.

Dior — modern minimalism

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If every-day wear could be elevated to a new sleek kind of minimalism, Dior would lead the way. The Dior Couture show was presented at Musée Rodin, with the embroidered tapestries of artists Madvhi, Manu Parekh and Chanakya adorning the walls on the background. For the Spring Summer 2022 couture collection, Maria Grazia Chiuri presented a modern-day minimalism in a toned down symphony of white, cream and grey. “During Christmas, I was honestly a little bit depressed because I thought we were done with COVID, and then I saw the numbers going up again. So, probably, I need to feel calm.” And calm it is. From lush fabrics flowing as the models walked down the runway, to exquisitely tailored capes and intricate embroideries — this was a collection of ephemeral elegance that felt peaceful and resigned. The couture collection centrals around the sentiments of human connection and togetherness. It is to “honor human relationships with handmade objects, expressing a desire to abolish the boundaries between art and craft once and for all". The collection may feel simple at times, but its polished craftsmanship combined with a purposeful air of je ne sais quoi, form a new kind of refined minimalist skin we all want to live in now.

Fendi — galaxy goddess

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Finally, we want to venture into the far unknown. And so did Fendi. The Fendi Spring Summer 2022 Couture show was presented at the Palais Brongniart. For the collection, Kim Jones took inspiration from the science fiction worlds of Dune and Star Wars and reimagined the genre with a hint of classicism. The Fendi couture collection showcased glittering gowns, velvet embroidered capes and classic sculptures hand-painted on long-trained dresses, in a navy, black, white and red palette. “At this moment in time, couture is quite a strange thing with what’s going on in the world. Customers can’t see it, so everything gets sent to them. It’s a bit of a fantasy,” Jones said about the collection. There's something intriguing about the clash of space and baroque. “We’re always thinking of the past, present, and future of it. The idea of different times and that very spiritual side of Rome, which becomes almost celestial; almost spacey.” The show was pure fantasy, a flight from today's mood and a space odyssey we cannot wait to experience for ourselves.

all images courtesy of
THE BRANDS