Haute Couture: three new fashion labels earn January show invitation

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Nov 13, 2015

Fashion labels Aouadi, Guo Pei and Iris Van Herpen will all benefit from new visibility at the next Paris Haute Couture week.

The executive committee of the Haute Couture's Chambre Syndacale (Union chamber) has in fact selected the three labels as new 'invitees', giving them the chance to present their collections at next January's couture shows. It's recognition for three designers with highly different visions.

Fashion house Aouadi Paris is a boutique label which premièred last July with its very first collection.

The brains behind the brand is Yacine Aouadi, 35. A Marseilles designer of Algerian origin, Aouadi studied at the Berçot Studio in Paris before starting his career at Balmain alongside Christophe Decarnin and then Olivier Rousteing.

His first collection proved intriguing for blending a contemporary feel with a strong inclination towards craftsmanship. Yacine Aouadi targets a hybrid woman, half urban, half social.

Forty year-old designer Guo Pei shines the spotlight on China's culture, millennial heritage and artisanal skills. In 1997 she founded her own fashion studio, Rose Studio, reinventing Chinese classics with a touch of flamboyant flair.

Guo Pei is a household name in China but she's still little known in the West. The designer graduated in 1986 from the Beijing School of Industrial Fashion Design and began her career as purchasing manager for a major textile manufacturer.

The winner of the Andam prize in 2014, Iris Van Herpen is the best-known of the three new names. Already a Haute Couture 'guest' in 2011, from 2013 Van Herpen focused on her ready-to-wear line, showcasing it in Paris.

A dance aficionado, the Dutch designer turned to fashion after studying art. She graduated in 2006 from the Artez Arts Institute in Arnhem, Holland, and created her own womenswear line as of the following year.

Van Herpen debuted in London with Alexander McQueen, and she's constantly on the look-out for innovation, notably using 3D printing and novelty fabrics for her stunning creations.