Fashion

Some couturiers get to modernise houses owned by luxury groups. Among them is Duran Lantink, who draws on Jean Paul Gaultier's ballet-costume era for his inspiration. Independent houses, by contrast, must create from scratch. Iris van Herpen turns to science. Rahul Mishra finds inspiration in the beauty of Hindu goddesses. Imane Ayissi pays tribute to his late mother. Finally, Kevin Germanier keeps celebrating the most desirable approach to recycling imaginable.

In the world of fashion, Haute Couture has a place all its own. Found nowhere else on earth, it is a distinctly French phenomenon. Both experimental and full of symbolism, Haute Couture sometimes looks unflinchingly at what is currently rattling the planet and puts our contemporary anxieties and fears on display. This edition features the Dutch duo Viktor & Rolf, Japan's Yuima Nakazato, the quintessentially Parisian Stéphane Rolland and the divine Adeline André.

As rising populism threatens freedom of expression, designers can no longer look away. Yohji Yamamoto rages, with clothes scorched by the sun. Issey Miyake celebrates the power of shadow. Jeanne Friot indicts the politicians. The Institut Français de la Mode urges its students to push beyond limits. KML, the Saudi-born label, dismantles Western dress codes. All of them are asking the same question: what does fashion propose for a livable future?

Is fashion still subversive? The answer is yes, with the extraordinarily named Matières Fécales label. At Yohji Yamamoto, it's yes, but more delicately. Satoshi Kondo for Issey Miyake, meanwhile, advocates for movement without constraints. Historian-performer Olivier Saillard elevates everyday clothing with his Living Fashion Museum. Lilia Litkovska, from Ukraine, draws inspiration from her war-torn country. And Ludovic Winterstan, for La Fabrique Nomade, believes it's high time we accepted each other, wherever our country of origin.

Wars, conflicts, the rise of populism, and the meteoric advance of artificial intelligence – in a world full of uncertainty, how and why can we continue to create new fashion collections? Students from the French Fashion Institute (IFM), along with emerging designers Weinsanto, Pressiat, Maitrepierre, and Alain Paul, share their perspectives. As Xavier Romatet, IFM’s Director General, says: fashion should show the world not as it is, but as we would like it to be.