This is the time everyone awaits; the Haute Couture week in the capital of fashion-Paris! Without wasting the precious time, we packed our bags and boarded an A380 to the City of Lights to bring you crème de la crème of the fashion world.

Upon our arrival, we found Paris in gorgeous weather. Stylish Parisians going about their lives; it seemed as if they cared not for the biggest event of the year for the multi-billion machine that we call High Fashion. In fact, right about that moment we questioned that, perhaps, fashion weeks are these incredibly creative events that have the press, designers, photographers, models and countless celebrities living in their own bubble with the rest of the world paying little attention.

Nonetheless, our focus was this exact bubble, so we gladly jumped in and joined the crowd of, quite possibly, the most fashion forward, talented, enthusiastic people who exhibit incredible and extreme perseverence in the search of success and recognition in the modern world of fashion.

Our schedule was packed and we wish we could share every single show we went to, however, here are those that we could fit. This is the roundup of the unique talent we had witnessed and what the Autumn/Winter 15-16 brought to the world of Haute Couture fashion.

For the A/W15 Haute Couture show Karl Lagerfeld surprised the audience by unveiling his collection in a casino reinvented at the Grand Palais with about 20 international celebrities, all close friends of CHANEL, playing blackjack in Le Cercle Privé.Uniting the traditional expertise of Haute Couture with the latest technologies, Karl Lagerfeld creates a range of 3D suits. Using the “selective laser sintering” technique they come painted, embroidered with beads, lined with satin, embroideries, or braided in leather. This show carried a subtext, a subliminal message of technology replacing man. Using the “selective laser sintering” technique the suits come painted, embroidered with beads, lined with satin, embroideries, or braided in leather. Are you ready?

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Gold is the colour! Elie Saab takes us on a journey of his personal history, the heritage of the House of Elie Saab and its founding of the nineties. His work is continuously symbolised by the delicately-embroidered gowns in signature shades of gold. This collection is devoted to the grandeour, opulence, and the beauty of women, a homage to the essence of the House of Elie Saab.

The catwalk itself, flanked with gilded panes, represented a contemporary Byzantine palace. The lines of the gowns are varied, full and slender sitting side by side, a diverse wardrobe of options. The finale bursted into brillaint gold – the wedding gown. This time the gown is the soul of the whole show.

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We loved the show! The setting, the music, the looks – all perfectly communicated to the audience. The collection draws its inspiration from the decadent and flamboyant art world of the late 70s and early 80s. Nocturne 54 tatle plays homage to the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg’s Nocturne op. 54. The collection features 27 perfectly-handrafted, meticulously-designed and embroided pieces. The essence of the collection consists of of smoking jackets inspired by musculine tuxedos, sophisticated and embroided dresses as well as shoes adorned in crystals. Special-cut Swarovski crystals used on the shoes and dresses some of the highlights of the collection. To say that we are impressed would be an understatement.    

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When it comes to delivering a true and classic Russian folk story, not many have been able to do it. This, however, is not what can be said about Yanina Couture A/W15 haute couture collection, which reveals traditional Russian folk art, the magic of the national Russian costumes and the irreproachable mood of elegant sihouettes of the haute couture from the 1950s.  The dresses range from tinu lacy minis to breathtaking long evening gowns made of silk taffeta, voile and velvet. The fabrics of the collection are predominantly delicate wool, cashmere and double-crepe costumes in a colour palette of dusty rose mixed with grey, black and ivory. This season Yanina takes us to the land of fairytales and fantasies – the favourites of Russia folklore.

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This is one of the shows that could be described in many ways, but we would like to call it brilliant! Julien Fournie’s A/W15 collection wasn’t only extremely elegant, creative, and original, but also incredible in his approach to the hues, the shapes, the detail of each and every piece; from the deep decolletés to the 3D-printed headpieces-all showed the ability of this couturier to deliver exactly what he wants and leave the audiences in an awe-inspiring state.

The dimmed shimmer, achieved through the use of Organza-covered sequens and darker colours gave the pieces a sense of romantism and yet extreme confidence. This is a beautiful story everyone was enchanted by from the start to the very end. Bravo!

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Wearable Art is what the genius duo Viktor & Rolf called their latest haute couture collection, which is their first work since the announcement earlier this year that their ready-to-wear collections will be no more, therefore giving more room, time and focus for the designers to create haute couture pieces. The fascinating thing about this show was their approach and quite literal representation of art being worn by models. It was incredible to see the designers take paintings off the wall one by one and put them on the approaching models. While this is incredible in its own way and we find the whole presentation marvellous, we cannot help but wonder if anyone would actually wear these at some point. We loved it nonetheless.

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Rami Al Ali’s impressive A/W15 couture collection is all about the feminine, vintage glamour of the 50s and the 60s. The gentle pastel colours of the pieces each tell a fairytale of their own. This is a collection that transcends the essence of the beauty and fragile nature of the female form. Stunning 20 pieces that are timeless and luxurious.

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It’s time to disco! Loris Azzaro’s A/W 15 collection celebrates the merry excess, extravagance and the surrealism of the disco. The graphic effects on the pieces are reminiscent of the 70s era; prints, embroidery crystal decorations-are all ready to bring back the era of dance glamour. Vertical stripes act as a leimotif and a rapture, while transparancies subtly accentuate the feminine body.

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Antonio Ortega rescues, redirects and reinterprets fabrics to evoke the transition toward a celestial spirituality in his latest collection MUMMIFIC. Mysterious bandages curl and intertwine, enveloping silhouettes. Stoles and rings are the star attraction of this collection. This collection offers a variety of accessories such as leather gaiters, bracelets and caps. Brilliant!

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This designer takes avant-guarde to a completely other level. In a world of universal trends, Bowie Wong dares to transcend the meaning of fashion and defy expectations. His latest collection is themed around Metamorphosis, with the inital inspiration coming from the transformation of a cicada. The collection features structural elements with soft and delicate fabrics.

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Show in Rome has a strong symbolic meaning. This is our city and every day inspires our creativity,” say the creative directors of the maison Valentino Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli after the mega show in Piazza Mignanelli outside the headquarters of the new atelier in Piazza di Spagna. A real challenge, won by Valentino. The event took place in front of the sixteenth-century building that encloses the casket of the atelier which employs 78 people. “Those born in Rome in the art and live this beauty almost take it for granted. We want, instead, to tell the world about it, about its elegance, charm and never-ending history. That’s why we decided to open a school next September: ten young talents for a year will be able to learn the secrets of Valentino,” say the designers.

On the runway of the Mirabilia Valentino, we can admire the first dress “the bird of Zeus” black tulle embroidered with feathers and application of an eagle on red ribbon, exactly as the one just found, after restoration at Palazzo Mignanelli, model with hair tied and crown from Roman empress. Then off to the 48 models with some dresses looking like armor lace but with a strong fragility, many blacks “because we liked to tell the mystery of Rome, and its less known” as told the designers who again presented slave sandals and antique jewellery flavour in melted wax created by Alessandro Gaggio. Breathtaking was the black cape “Colosseum” cashmere and velvet. Grand finale “Vibia Sabina”, long red antique velvet and deep neckline. Fifteen minutes of standing ovation and seven hundred people sharing a unique emotion.