Given that the show started 51 minutes late, one could be forgiven for expecting the last-minute arrival of one of Gaurav Gupta's famous fans, who include Beyoncé and Cardi B. Last season, the latter kept the show waiting. crowd for almost an hour.
It wasn't to be, but there were plenty of shows on the runway as the self-described “primitive futurist” designer showed off for his third season in Paris.
Named “Arohanam” after the notion of ascending scale in Indian music, Gupta combined the futuristic, pleated and soaring sculptural pieces for which he is best known, with a newer direction. He indicates dramatic, heavily embellished tailoring with structured shoulders and corsetry details, paired with pleated dhoti pants or flowy draped skirts. His embroidery, employing 20 different traditional Indian techniques, gave an irregular texture and jagged snakeskin effect to his ornate bolero jackets.
Kundalini snakes, a reference to the sacred feminine in Indian philosophy, were a constant, and their sinuous forms were suggested in the sweeping swirls of her signature designs, which included a wedding dress with a train that ran the width of the aisle. of the American cathedral. its headquarters for the season.
The cast metal pieces evoked snakes and birds as ornaments; A molten gold bodice covered the chest like armor, and symbolic medallions supported a black jersey dress draped at the chakra points. In silver, her designs evoked quicksand or molten lava, with sculpted protuberances emerging from the flow of embroidered fabric over a shoulder or hip. A vivid red evoked the rising flames of the fire within, with designs including a dramatic embroidered crop top that extended to gloved hands.
For more Paris Haute Couture reviews, click here.
