Paris’s haute couture intricacies

Antonio Ortega Couture
After 10 years of showing his collections on the Montréal, Toronto and New York catwalks, Antonio Ortega brought an inventive, artistic vision to Paris. He showed his creativity through his use of textures (including lace and hemp), layers and embroidery, including visible ladder stitching and unfinished seams among the 36 silhouettes, which occasionally crossed the line into wearable art—witness his feathers and how his shapes contrasted with the female figure.

Elie Saab

International Woolmark Prize

Above In 1954, unknowns Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent were announced winners of the International Woolmark Prize, with a panel comprising renowned designers including Pierre Balmain and Hubert de Givenchy.

 
The International Woolmark Prize, sponsored by the Australian Wool Industry, is an annual event with regional awards distributed to international designers in Asia, Europe, India, USA and the Middle East. From the regional awards, five finalists will rush to compete in the finals for menswear in London in January 2015. Beijing will host the finals for womenswear in March 2015. The 2014–15 International Woolmark Prize Europe was held at the stunning Shangri-La hotel in Paris. Asger Juel Larsen, from Denmark, was presented as the menswear winner and the designers of Augustin Teboul of Germany were announced as the womenswear winners.

Viktor & Rolf

Boucheron
Boucheron took guests on a tour through China, India, Russia, Persia and Japan, with one collection for each destination. Boucheron’s collection pays homage to these places at its location overlooking the captivating Place Vendôme, from China’s beautiful yin-yang concept and artistic calligraphy, to Russia’s indulgence in luxury with intricately mesmerizing details, through India’s floral creations adorned with priceless precious stones, into Japan’s appreciation of water’s beauty and, finally, into Persia’s lavish but delicate features.

Valentino

Mellerio dits Meller
This charming high-end jewellery brand, dating back four centuries, is filled with innovative pieces, with a slew of features that leave clients and media coming back for more. The details are microscopic, allowing the spectator be absorbed by the artist’s enchanting universe. Such innovative techniques come to life with a pleasing visual effect of haute chic: a pair of ear cuffs is luminously adorned by 622 diamonds. The stunning Éclats de Lys necklace, containing a total of 4,159 diamonds, can be detached, revealing a pair of earrings and a bracelet.

Jean Paul Gaultier

Chanel Joaillerie
Chanel Joaillerie hosted a fabulous display at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées where each piece took centre-stage. The collections revolved around the idea of café society, a time where socialites raised a glass or two and enjoyed good music in the midst of a luxurious ambiance. The dark stage glowed with the reflections of each jewellery piece. The collections, with titles ringing elegance, include Charleston, Jazz, Broadway, Morning in Vendôme, Tuxedo, Midnight, Bubbles, Sunset, Cruise, Café Society, Sunrise, Muse and Smoking.

With a total of 87 pieces, we began with dark outlines, marked by black onyx, reflecting details from the stones of choice. The Broadway collection is set in a grid-like manner in order to symbolize a typical New York City feature, both its layout and its architecture. The ultimate piece of haute grandeur was the Morning in Vendôme set on its own, ascending and descending from the ceiling. An emerald-cut 12 ct yellow diamond is closely embraced by brilliant-cut and yellow diamonds, with carved black onyx. Each piece stood on its own pedestal, maximizing their effect.

Ralph & Russo

Buccellati
The family-owned brand, Buccellati, presented works of art with its high-end goldsmith techniques revealing a chiffon-like texture, managing to firmly hold precious stones. Emeralds, rubies, sapphires and, of course diamonds, reflected a beautiful touch to each cuff, shimmering on a gold or silver background.

Zuhair Murad

Damiani

The 90-year-old luxury brand continues to present us with artistically incredible pieces. The collections focus on masterpieces, with inspirational elements containing detailed workmanship and thorough craftsmanship making each aspect powerfully shine. The D.Fly bracelet features sapphires, amethysts and diamonds, with a sense of frozen liquid on the wearer’s wrist. The Via Lattea collection—named after the Milky Way, in Italian—dazzle like stars in the night sky, with white, brown and grey diamonds on white, pink and yellow gold, in rings, earrings and bracelets. The intricate work with the “stars” contrasts with simple modernism on the opposite side. •