Haute Couture Week: Balenciaga, Elie Saab, Viktor & Rolf, and Jean Paul Gaultier

Check out the highlights from the third day.

As the third day of haute couture week unfolds, the runway becomes a canvas for innovation and elegance, where designers unveil their latest masterpieces in a dazzling display of craftsmanship and creativity. This Wednesday (26th), we got to see the fall-winter 2024-2025 haute couture collections of Julie De Libran, Franck Sorbier, Balenciaga, Yuima Nakazato, Elie Saab, Viktor & Rolf, Zuhair Murad, and Jean Paul Gaultier.

The 53rd Balenciaga Couture Collection blends streetwear, goth, skater, and metalhead subcultures with minimalist form and reimagined glamour. It modernizes archival influences with innovative techniques: a scuba satin-lined t-shirt echoes Warhol’s artistic approach to everyday objects.

“This tee reflects a Warhol inspiration: whether the base commodity is a can of soup or an everyday shirt, Demna is interested in not only the object itself but also the techniques used to elevate it into an art form,” said Demna.

Demna integrates Balenciaga’s signature elements like the cocoon silhouette and bell-shaped sleeves, while showcasing material innovation through designs like dresses made from melted plastic bags and draped leather held by a safety pin. The collection culminates in a nylon wedding dress, reimagining traditional gazar fabric for contemporary couture.

Elie Saab’s fall-winter 2024-2025 couture collection started with vibrant black adorned with magenta and teal floral motifs. Leather opera gloves brought a touch of toughness to his typically feminine designs, which this season featured sleek columns and trumpet skirts instead of the usual princess shapes, ensuring ample volume.

Inspired by Russian Khokhloma art, Saab incorporated floral patterns and natural elements on black lacquered wood, emphasizing contrasts and sculptural bustiers that enhanced the body’s form. Gothic influences permeated the collection’s essence.

Key pieces included fringed gowns in bold colors, offering graceful movement on the runway, with swirling details on shoulder and back embellishments reminiscent of wings.

Before the Viktor & Rolf fall-winter 2024-2025 couture show, Viktor Horsting reflected on how each show reacts to its antecedent. Inspired by their iconic 1998 ‘Atomic Bomb’ collection, known for exaggerated volumes, they aimed for a more abstract approach this time. Viktor & Rolf explored geometric shapes as building blocks, blending them with the human form.

The trench dress featured a triangle at the shoulder line, while a polka-dotted blouse with a sphere shape inflated beneath a double-breasted coatdress. A sharply checked blazer created an optical illusion, and trompe-l’oeil details like oddly fitted lapels added depth.

Bright colors and playful print clashes gave off an ’80s vibe, emphasizing fun over surrealism. Despite their avant-garde vision, Viktor & Rolf demonstrated mastery in construction, using crinoline-like structures to support satin duchesse, jacquards, and silks.

Jean Paul Gaultier’s guest couturier this season is Nicolas Di Felice, from Courrèges. The collection closely mirrored recent provocative designs at Courrèges, featuring hook-and-eye fasteners provocatively opening along the hip. The fall-winter 2024-2025 couture pieces avoided prints, color, and volume in favor of plain fabrics tightly contoured to the body.

The show opened dramatically, with models’ faces obscured by oversized standing collars or unconventional eyewear adorned with black fabric or dense lace instead of lenses, leaving only their foreheads visible. It evoked memories of Gaultier’s fall 1991 collection, where some models were completely enveloped in houndstooth fabrics, even holding long cigarette holders.

This was an abstract, minimalist interpretation of Gaultier’s iconic exploration of corsets and lingerie-inspired dressing. The focus was on materials like velvet, feathers, raffia, leather, and pleating.