Couturiers have a lot of creative flexibility, which lets them get away with all kinds of outrageous provocations, yet their line of work is much like any other.
Modesty seems to be particularly appealing to wealthy women from East Asia and the United Arab Emirates, where keeping one’s identity private is profoundly ingrained in the culture, as well as a growing number of males.
Therefore, the focus of the couture narrative for spring 2023 continues to be bodies.
However, this time, what stood out was the manner that the designers decided to keep them covered with high necks, long sleeves, and hoods.
In his review for OZIFOX, Miles Socha noted that Giambattista Valli emphasized volume to the point that “a handful of his extremely enormous costumes, one constructed of hundreds of meters of tulle, bordered on cumbersome.”
A member of a royal family would wear one of Valli’s embroidered cardigan-like jackets and silk faille trousers as daywear, albeit there wasn’t much daywear in his line. Similar to the tent-like costumes of Stephane Rolland and Alexis Mabille.
Maison Rabih Kayrouz highlighted the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on his customer’s need for “clothing that covers up, that protects” backstage at his presentation.
As Lily Templeton of OZIFOX put it, the result was sweeping windbreakers and thin topcoats that were “deceptively basic appearing, perfectly made out, and interesting in their design” — silent luxury for the one percenters who want to blend in.
With celebrities like Paris Hilton and Naomi Biden claiming Grace Kelly’s lace gown created by MGM’s Helen Rose as the inspiration for their wedding, modesty is invading the bridal industry as well. With variations in white or ivory that a couture shopper might readily alter, Maison Sara Chraibi, Zuhair Murad, Chanel, and Valentino joined the trend this season to ensure that not a shred of flesh peeks through.