Fashion Week Wrap Up

Haute for Paris

Haute Couture week opened in Paris on July 1st. The event, which showcased for next autumn/winter, has been a whirlwind of fashion action. Twenty-three couturiers were featured officially alongside dozens of side shows and presentations. Most of the designs showcased will never be worn by the average woman or even be sold in high-end stores because they're more art than anything else. So of course that meant there were a lot of over-the-top gowns shown, especially creations that looked designed for a bride.

"We are never very far from the Renaissance," Christian Lacroix said backstage before Tuesday's show at the Centre Georges Pompidou. Here are a few highlights from the shows:

Chrisitan LaCroix's gothic bride

Gaultier's strappy cage dresses

Givenchy was inspired by Peru

Dior

Elie Saab

AU REVOIR, VALENTINO

Haute Couture Week kicked off in Paris last week where Dior, Armani, and Christian LaCroix revealed their latest collections. The star of the runway, however, was Valentino, who showed his 90th and last ever collection at the Rodin Museum Wednesday evening.

His final show marked the end of a forty-five-year career as a fashion icon who dressed some of the world's most fashionable women. His retirement is being heralded as the end of an era in fashion when design has been inspired by the muse and not the moolah. . "Business is ruining fashion," he said at the show. "There is little creativity and too much business." Amen, brothah.