Fashion Week
10 Paris Couture Week 2024 Moments That Shocked & Awed
Fashion month is off to a wild start.
Paris Couture Week is the Wild West of fashion. It’s the week where designers throw caution to the wind and bring their wildest sartorial visions to life, completely unbound by laws of wearability.
At Maison Margiela, for instance, dresses with faux pubic hair were sent down the runway. Meanwhile, the ’90s-era cone bra was brought back from the archives at Jean Paul Gaultier. Even accessories took a detour for the Spring/Summer 2024 season — at Schiaparelli, a model walked the runway clutching not a bag, but a robot baby covered in rhinestones.
Similarly, A-list stars embraced the opportunity to lean into weird, wild, and over-the-top ensembles. Jennifer Lopez, for example, collaborated with Schiaparelli’s Daniel Roseberry on a coat made of 7,000 rose petals — real, of course — which she wore to sit front row at the designer’s show. Meanwhile, fashion week regulars, like Zendaya, Rihanna, and Kylie Jenner, made Paris their playground in the most dramatic outfits (and beauty looks to match).
Ahead, the buzziest moments from couture week that both shocked and awed.
Zendaya Started The Week With A Bang
Before the first look debuted on the runway, Couture Week started with a bang, thanks to Zendaya’s Star Trek-meets-fashion-girl look to attend Schiaparelli. Special shoutout to her futuristic micro bangs — a surprising styling choice that complimented her all-black ensemble perfectly.
High-Fashion Pubic Hair At Maison Margiela
The buzziest show of couture week was, undeniably, that of Maison Margiela. It celebrated the female form through trompe l’oeil breast prints and (faux) exposed pubic hair. Cathy Horyn said the collection “leaves other couture shows in its dust” — high praise from the noted fashion critic.
Beauty girls also lauded the porcelain doll-inspired glam, created by celebrity makeup artist Pat McGrath. The vision and artistry were apparent with every look.
Rihanna Made An Appearance At Dior
Bad Gal Riri rarely attends fashion week these days. She made an exemption, however, for Dior’s Spring/Summer 2024 show — the only runway show she attended this season.
The fashion icon of a generation, she stunned in a noir ensemble topped with a funky cap. It was a perfect blend of feminine elegance and cool.
Schiaparelli’s Robot Baby
While Schiaparelli’s front row was a site to behold (Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Hunter Schafer, and more), the runway looks were equally captivating. Schiaparelli leaned into its avant-garde sensibilities with a sci-fi-inspired collection. Think: spiky knotted ensembles, statuesque tops, and dresses made of motherboards.
One accessory, in particular, had FashionTok in a tizzy: a massive, embellished robot baby.
Simone Rocha’s Guest Run For Jean Paul Gaultier
Jean Paul Gaultier gave the creative reins to Simone Rocha, guest couturier for the Spring 2024 season — and the resulting collection was a smash success. Rocha harnessed her own coquette sensibilities, infusing Gaultier’s trademark lingerie-inspired silhouettes with elements of girlhood (read: lots of bows).
Rocha expertly drew from the label’s archives to bring back Gaultier’s infamous cone bra. Her take — found on various structured black dresses — felt modern, elegant, and wearable.
J.Lo Wore 7,000 Live Rose Petals
Jennifer Lopez has been intentionally leaning into floral looks lately, an Easter egg for her upcoming album This Is Me...Now. No rosette look, however, can top the utter masterpiece she wore to Schiaparelli’s Haute Couture show.
She donned a coat made of 7k white rose petals, custom-created for her by Schiaparelli creative director Daniel Roseberry.
Robert Wun’s Carrie Moment
The bridal looks made waves at Robert Wun. Instead of a pristine, all-white ensemble, one model’s wedding dress and veil were covered in blood red splotches, à la Carrie.
Upon closer inspection, the gory element was actually made of ruby red crystals, intricately embroidered throughout the entire look. Horror meets haute couture.
Wun leaned into elements of surrealism in his other creations, as well —particularly, a scarlet ensemble that featured a mannequin riding on the model’s back.
Giambattista Valli Leaned Into Rosettes
At couture week, no detail was too small. In fact, most were larger than life. Case in point: to compliment the collection’s nostalgic floral prints, Giambattista Valli wove bouquets of live roses into several models’ hairdos.
Kylie Jenner Made New Friends
Kylie Jenner and Couture Week are a match made in fashion heaven. And while her looks were knockouts across the board, her A-list front row companions generated even more buzz.
At Gaultier, she hung out with Gossip Girl’s Kelly Rutherford, meanwhile, she took pictures with both J.Lo and Florence Pugh at Valentino. Naturally, the photos made the rounds on Instagram.
Embellished Bras At Chanel
Designer bras have taken center stage at recent fashion weeks, a trend that continued during Couture Week 2024. Chanel, specifically, showcased yassified bras that were embellished with rhinestone-studded, 3-dimensional florals.
