The fall 2026 couture season is just around the corner (watch this space), making it the perfect time to turn the clock back some 20 years, to fall 2016 . The schedule was particularly robust that season—Vogue Runway posted 25 collections—as The Fédération de la Haute Couture had decided to invite participation from guest members. Among those making their Paris debuts were Giles Deacon, who had shuttered his ready-to-wear to launch made-in-the-UK custom, and Naples-born Francesco Scognamiglio. The schedule also included Ronald van der Kemp and Alberta Ferretti (who presented her Limited Edition line), who were exploring the then-newish concept of demi couture.
The runways yielded a panoply of impressions. There were Shakespearean flourishes at Valentino, boho vibes at Zuhair Murad, and gift-wrapped looks at Atelier Versace and Alexis Mabille. Froth and frills at Chanel and Giambattista Valli were countered by restraint at Armani Privé, Christian Dior, the latter designed by Lucie Meier and Serge Ruffieux. Karl Lagerfeld worked a fairy tale theme at Fendi’s show in Rome, and Iris van Herpen presented a bubble dress. At Viktor & Rolf, Dickensian scrappiness was achieved with designs incorporating remade garments and existing fabrics; similar inventiveness was seen at Maison Margiela and Ronald van der Kemp. At Givenchy, Riccardo Tisci looked back to ancient Greece; Gilles Mendel, in from New York, referenced Keith Haring, and Schiaparelli’s Bertrand Guyon mined the house founder’s 1938 Circus collection, a reminder, perhaps, that play is the thing when it comes to fashion’s laboratory—aka haute couture.
Fendi
“I called the show Legends and Fairy Tales,” Lagerfeld said, “because it’s a collection that doesn’t relate to everybody like ready-to-wear; this is very special for people who have a special kind of life.”
To mark its 90th anniversary, Fendi flew guests from Paris to Rome to enjoy a haute fourrure show presented at the Trevi Fountain. Models walked on a transparent runway set over the pools. Karl Lagerfeld’s imagination was focused on the North when he designed this collection, which referenced East of the Sun and West of the Moon, a 1914 book of fairy tales, illustrated by the Danish artist Kay Nielsen,” Nicole Phelps wrote.
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