In Size M. | Haute Couture Fall/Winter ‘24–’25
La Fédération just announced the fall 2024 schedule for Paris Couture Week, an event pushed back-to-back with Men’s Fashion Week due to an unprecedented obscurity (hint: rhymes with Ozempic-s). The result? Thousands of new creations to be viewed in the single month of June. In anticipation, we take a closer look at two designers on the schedule, Robert Wun and Iris Van Herpen.
Robert Wun, guest designer, sees couture as a necessary escape from overproduction.
Wun, who started his label in 2014, began with ready-to-wear collections that he shot lookbooks for with a DIY setup in his own kitchen. By 2023, he made history as the first Hong Kong born designer to show at haute couture week, catapulting his collections into the hands of A-list celebrities like Cardi B and her prodigious stylist Kollin Carter.
The decision to shift to a made-to-order business model came post-pandemic as a response to rising production costs and an unpredictable supply chain. Wun tells Vogue that his vision of modern couture is accessible but still collectible: “Our customer is someone who invests in special pieces. It’s less about the everyday, and more about collecting luxury that they want to keep forever.”
Wun will show his new collection alongside sustainability queen Iris Van Herpen, whose 2021 collaboration with Parley was made of plastics found in the ocean.
Van Herpen, known for experimenting at the intersection of fashion and technology, tells Vogue that in a time where organic silk and recycled polyester are equal in quality, the answer is obvious: “There’s not a lot of reason not to use sustainable materials anymore, other than changing your mindset.” As ready-to-wear becomes synonymous with the harsh realities of fast fashion, the hyper-exclusivity of haute couture leaves one question to be answered: When will sustainable, made-to-order fashion be accessible to everyone?
