Bonjour Couture
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The Haute Couture Fashion Week has begun and the high fashion market has posted some very positive sales news. Top Parisian labels, including Chanel, Dior and Jean Paul Gaultier, have revealed a marked increase in both sales and demand. ”We have received so many orders, we are not sure we can deliver them,” said Dior ceo Sidney Toledano. “The demand is here. The number of clients has increased – they are looking for high quality, and haute couture is the summit. I’m very optimistic for the future,” he continued. “In the business of couture, the numbers are becoming interesting. The rise has been credited to an influx of orders from China, the Middle East and Russia. Chanel has seen a rise “between 20 and 30 per cent” over the past year.
“There is no end of the season,” said Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion at Chanel to WWD. “The people who are interested in couture, they are quite active at the moment. They can come at any time.”
Kicking off this week’s shows today are Bouchra Jarra, Dior, and new comer Axelis Mabille. Tomorrow sees new offerings from Armani Prive, Chanel and Givenchy – the last time the label will show its highest end collections in catwalk format after it opted to conduct individual appointments. Elie Saab, Gaultier and Valentino will round up the event. This year’s event will also see the introduction of jewellery on the official couture schedule. Van Cleef & Arpels and Chanel Joaillerie will both present their new collections.
in line with his final wishes, his family said on Monday. McQueen, who rose from a modest background to become one of the world’s most flamboyant and high-profile designers, committed suicide in February on the day before his mother’s funeral. A family statement said: “On the 29th May 2010, Lee Alexander McQueen was laid to rest on the Isle of Skye. ”Lee cherished the times that he was able to spend on the Isle of Skye — he enjoyed the beauty, peace and tranquillity. It was Lee’s final request that his ashes should be buried at Kilmuir,” it said. They also thanked Isabella MacDonald and her family at the local Kinloch Lodge Hotel on Skye, “whose support at this sad time was of immense help in making it possible for them to carry out Lee’s wishes.” The body of the 40-year-old was found hanged in a wardrobe in his central London flat. An inquest into his death concluded in April that he had taken cocaine, sleeping pills and tranquillisers before killing himself. McQueen was one of fashion’s superstars and designed for Givenchy before being creative director of his own label. His death cast a cloud over New York’s and London’s Fashion Week, which was just about to start when he died.
Who says brides can’t be edgy? Givenchy’s richly embroidered gown and studded headpiece set the stage for an untraditional affair. This is from a recent couture collection, it is not that many people that will have the style or the panache, not to talk of the guts to pull this off but if you do then shop around and do things your way.