Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week came and went, and along with it, the exquisite, extraordinary one-of-a-kind works of the couturiers. But even though their time on the fall 2016 runways were fleeting (much like all good things in life), at least we have the photographs of each look to obsess-slash-drool over. Unlike ready-to-wear, couture is a way for designers to stretch their imaginations without worrying about silly things like affordability and in some cases, wearability. As a result, there’s no shortage of extravagance or spectacular looks that serves as a fine display of exemplary craftsmanship. Take designer Iris van Herpen, for instance. The designer fashioned a stunning masterpiece made of thousands of silicone-coated hand-blown glass bubbles. Meanwhile, Elie Saab, the man responsible for the parade of fairy tale ball gowns on the red carpet (beloved by everyone from J.Lo to Lily James), one-upped himself when he sent out a design intricately embroidered with colorful floral appliques. Alexandre Vauthier, too, treated seven of his couture looks with more than 100,000 Swarovski crystals (one of which was modeled by Bella Hadid). Scroll through 14 unforgettable looks from the fall 2016 collections at Couture Fashion Week to see what we’re talking about.
Fendi Haute Fourrure
Elie Saab Couture
Jean Paul Gaultier Couture
Valentino Haute Couture
Ulyana Sergeenko Couture
Schiaparelli Couture
Iris van Herpen
J. Mendel
Chanel Haute Couture
Alexandre Vauthier Haute Couture
Guo Pei
Giambattista Valli Haute Couture
Alexis Mabille Couture
