Sally Hawkins in Christian Dior Fall/Winter 2017 Haute Couture--"The Shape of Water" Actress Sally Hawkins wore this tea-length "striped" gown from Christian Dior Fall/Winter 2017 Haute Couture collection and its Creative Director Maria Grazia Chiuri. I loved this gown when I saw the collection and was very happy to see it on the red carpet. As I have said before, it takes a strong and fearless actress to wear a "print" and especially a bias-cut one like this. This Dior Haute Couture is actually NOT a print but...

Multicolored BEADED strips, all HAND SEWN in a printed/striped pattern, on the BIAS. And it all MITERS (matches). And every seam was sewn by HAND. There is so much COUTURE in what I just said that well, it would take a FOUR-HOUR "Nick Class" for me to explain it. This dress probably costs around $80,000+ and trust me kids, it's worth every Euro! (even though Sally Hawkins got it for free).

This past week was Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week in where else? Paris, of course. Haute Couture is a rarefied art in the world of fashion. Here are some bullet points on Haute Couture...

*Every item must be (almost all) handmade (some sewing is done with a sewing machine but a very small amount!);
*All items are custom ordered and made-to-measure to the client's needs and shapes (there are arguably only a small elite group of ladies--numbering in the low thousands-- in the entire world who are customers with Sheikha Mozah of Qatar being a very prominent and consistent one!);
*Prices are very hush-hush but a suit can set you back $45,000 to start and a gown, $100,000!);
*A LOT of Haute Couture is lent to celebrities to wear at big red carpet events, such as Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Awards. Since many of these design samples may not ever get produced...why not get good use out of them and have celebs wear them to promote the brand's lipstick and perfume!

To start off my Runway Report, I begin with DIOR:

WHAT: Christian Dior Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2017. This was Creative Director Maria Grazia Chiuri's second Haute Couture collection for the famed Dior fashion house. Dior is celebrating 70 years in the fashion world with an incredible exhibition at the Louvre's Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. The Dior Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2017 fashion show occurred at Les Invalides, the sight where Napoleon is entombed. 



INSPIRATION: Travel. In the years following World War II, Christian Dior (the designer himself) traveled to California, Tokyo, South America, to name a few, to show his collections to the high society ladies of the world. As a result, Chiuri was inspired by this backdrop to create a collection inspired by Travel with names of outfits such as "Siam", "Oxford", "Austria", and "New York".

SEEN ON THE RUNWAY: Dior gray suits; Le Bar suit; daywear; velvet; patchwork; full-flared skirted suits, coats; light-as-air tulle nipped-in waist ball gowns.

Collection Highlights:










Click below for the Christian Dior Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2017 Show: