Skin, fantasy and tech redefine Paris couture week
Paris couture week centered on three takeaways—flesh (body-baring or -concealing silhouettes), fantasy in a heat‑wave moment, and the machine (tech-driven, handmade balance). Designers like Balenciaga’s Pierpaolo Piccioli, Dior, Chanel, Schiaparelli, Armani Privé and Iris van Herpen pushed the impossible with 3D body scans, lab-grown fabrics, silicone torsos and beads, underscoring couture as luxury’s laboratory and revival engine for a post‑slump market.