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Haute Couture Fashion Week Diary: Day 2

Sahar Nooraei here, reporting from Paris for Fall 2017 Haute Couture Fashion Week.

Check back for more diary entries and make sure to follow S/ magazine on Instagram (@sstylemag) and Twitter (@sstylemag) for visual updates.


July 4th, 2017

9:00AM
I wake up to the sound of hammers and know it’s time for a coffee. To treat myself, I head to Rose Bakery. Walking up Rue des Martyrs was the healthy exercise I needed—I have to work for that lemon poppy seed loaf.

1:30PM
After answering emails and organizing my notes for the day ahead, I return to my imaginary home, Place Vendôme, for the Alexis Mabille presentation. The venues and showrooms at Place Vendôme are incredibly elaborate, they almost come across artificial. For his latest collection, Alexis Mabille created looks based on a woman’s scent, resulting in 20 looks that contrasted one another, but tied together in harmony just like a fragrance—a good fragrance that is. My favourite look had to be the dramatic merlot gown—wonder how much time the tulle work took. People watching at any fashion week is amusing, and in Paris, it’s even more fun. I had to capture this gentleman who looked as if he was challenging my beloved merlot gown to an Haute Couture duel. Who’d have the best odds? I’ll let you decide.

2:30PM 
Off to Place de la Bastille for Stéphane Rolland—you might remember him as the designer Celine Dion wore during her epic performance at the Billboard Awards. It takes about 40 minutes to get to the opera house, where Mr. Rolland’s 10-year anniversary show will take place. I’m wearing a jumpsuit I picked up during my trip in Mexico City–instant regrets. Let’s just say my driver did not want to put on the AC. Walking into the space, I instantly spot a piano on the stage where the show will take place—music to my ears, quite literally. The lights dim and a piano player emerges from backstage. She takes her seat—dressed in Stéphane Rolland, of course—and starts to play as the curtains open. From his now-signature (thanks, Celine) sculptural silhouettes to the gold leaf accents that ran throughout his milestone collection, Rolland proved once again that he can carve out extraordinary creations season after season.

7:30PM 
Whether it’s prêt-à-porter or Haute Couture, Alexandre Vauthier‘s love of a good party is crystal clear—there’s never a note of melancholy. With his rising and much deserved popularity, Vauthier’s fashion shows have definitely become a hot ticket. As I make my way into the Grand Palais, I’m pleasantly blinded by disco balls and ultraviolet lights—what a scene! I take my seat and across from me is footwear designer, Brian Atwood, who’s responsible for some of the best sky-scraping footwear on the market. The lights—ultraviolet lights—dim momentarily and the music goes on full blast. It’s hard to sit still as I’m really feeling the music but must concentrate. The first look makes it’s way down the runway, modelled by Bella Hadid and straight out of the 80s—the better half of the 80s. All the looks in the collection were equally powerful, which is quite rare if we’re being honest.  Personal standouts had to be the silver, blue lamé-draped beauty as well as the plunging velvet gown (look 24)—I’ll take both.

10:00PM 
Gabrielle Chanel is the latest fragrance to be launched by Chanel. To celebrate the grand debut, close friends of the iconic brand and influencers gathered at Palais de Tokyo for an intimate soirée. I decide to put on my sparkly oxfords once more and go for a gamine look with pinstripe trousers and a double-breasted suit jacket. Entering the venue, I along with other guests in attendance were invited to take a scent journey and discover the different notes in the fragrance, which include, tuberose, orange blossom, jasmine and ylang-ylang.

As I walked through the venue and over to the Monseur Blue (Palais de Tokyo’s restaurant), I see many recognizable faces, which include, Kristen Stewart, Jacquemus, Sebastian Tellier, and Aziz Ansari. The highlight of the evening had to be Pharrell‘s uplifting, crowd pleasing, surprise performance. He sang his hits, which included HappyGet LuckyLose Yourself to Dance and Blurred Lines. The crowd got even more jovial when Katy Perry joined Pharrell on stage to perform their new hit single Feels—they performed it three times. You can watch a clip of the video on our Instagram feed and get the full coverage of the event here.

Until tomorrow…

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