Dior couture: Can Maria Grazia Chiuri really cut it?

Before I start, just to let you know that my answer to the question in the headline is yes, she can cut it. But that doesn’t mean everyone will agree and opinion does still seem to be divided on Maria Grazia Chiuri’s tenure at Dior. I still can’t quite make my mind up about her…

Couture SS17: Cool, quirky and yes… even commercial

Some time ago I worked with a catwalks editor (yes, such things do exist) who hated covering the pre-collections. She had to be weaned (for ‘weaned’ read ‘prised’) off covering the far-less-relevant/commercial couture shows. After all, the couture shows were an anachronism, a flickering remnant of a long-dead past, a patently unfair indulgence of interest…

Haute couture SS16: Social media moments

Fashion can seem to be a strange world when you’re not at its heart. It’s impractical, obsessed with things that the rest of the world thinks trivial, it’s frequently silly, and sometimes seems designed to make us all feel totally inadequate. Couture is all of those things but it’s also fabulous and social media-savvy. Here are some of my favourite SS16 moments.

Couture 2016: Alberta Ferretti wows us

Alberta Ferretti is one of those labels that always comes up with delicious fabric mixes and feminine takes on the trends of the day. Yet it’s not one that you expect to make you say “wow”.  This couture season is rather different though. The Alberta Ferretti Limited Edition label has channelled many of the key trends we’ve…

Couture SS16: Versace says sex sells

You’ve got to hand it to Versace. The fashion house has had its ups and downs but it’s back on a roll doing… well, what it’s always done really. Versace knows that sex sells and that’s what it gives it well-heeled clients, specially when it comes to its haute couture Atelier Versace offer.