Fashion

Haute Couture is about dreams, seducing consumers and amplifying a brand’s message. But at its best, it can also hold a mirror up to society. Lebanese designer Elie Saab’s latest collection pays tribute to 1940s American glamour. High fashion also sometimes allows itself to talk politics and send messages - like Marseille-born designer Yacine Aouadi, inspired by the mosque-cathedral of Cordoba for his new collection.

Haute Couture is an art form that brings together technical mastery, scientific innovation and ambition. At Paris’s Grand Palais, Chanel has recreated its workshops. Dior’s show is taking place at the fashion giant’s private residence on the Avenue Montaigne. Julien Fournié embraces quantum physics, while Iris Van Herpen plays with cymatics. Jean Paul Gaultier pays tribute to the forest - a quest for beauty, and sensuality.

For summer 2017 menswear, think classic, carefree, but never scruffy. Designers have flocked to Paris to present collections inspired by the past, an attempt to interrogate the complexity of modern life. Paul Smith, Dries Van Noten and Dior are indulging in a spot of Brit-mania. South Korean designer Juun.J and Chinese label Sankuanz are looking to the skies. Lanvin has opted for a hybrid silhouette, while American labels Hood by Air & Thom Browne go for escapism and irreverence.

After London and Milan, Paris is hosting summer 2017's men's fashion week. Thoughtfulness and unbridled creativity are the order of the day. Rick Owens looks to "evolution". Young label OAMC, meanwhile, explores the concept of "isolation". Facetasm plays with proportion and layering. Y/Project gets innovative with cufflinks, while Walter Van Beirendonck opts for humour and levity. Kim Jones at Vuitton takes a different path, fusing an African aesthetic with more than a hint of punk.

For 30 years now, La Maison Méditerranéenne des Métiers de la Mode or MMMM has devoted itself to passing its fashion expertise down the generations. Since 2010, the group has been nurturing Marseille designers through its annual competition, the MF Prize. This year, the MMMM is launching a new event called Open my Med. Its first Guest of Honour is young Marseille-born couturier Yacine Aouadi. He’s tasked with curating two exhibitions over the summer, both of them free to the public.

For Louis Vuitton, the clean abstractionism of Niemeyer’s building works seamlessly with the collections’s deconstructed pop aesthetic. And ahead of both Hong Kong and Paris, London is the epicentre of the global luxury goods market. Not surprising then, that Dior has opted for a quintessentially English setting for its show. Finally we go to Cuba - visited by Pope Francis, Barack Obama and the Rolling Stones since it opened itself up to the outside world. Now, it’s Chanel’s turn to pay a visit.

When she was just 15, Dutch designer Marlou van Engelen left Holland for London in pursuit of a life of fashion. She’s now back in Amsterdam, where her office is a former church, the headquarters of Dutch label Scotch and Soda. Marlou has a unique approach when it comes to assembling her collections. The label’s push to expand globally relies on a beguiling communications strategy. During New York’s last Fashion Week, the label erected a huge set of drawers in a warehouse in south Manhattan.

Paris's Carreau du Temple, once a clothes market, has become one of the city's most trendy venues, making it the perfect setting for this year’s Made in France salon. The event brings together the key players from the French textile and design industries. But while fashion itself might be glamorous, business gatherings like this can be less than seductive. So the organisers invited Marie-Ange Guilleminot, a contemporary visual artist, to spice things up.

Summer's on its way, and the fashion calendar is full. First up is the International Young Designers' Festival, an event held for the last 22 years in Dinard in Brittany. But when the mayor of the seaside town withdrew his blessing, it moved to nearby Dinan. Enter a glittering jury, sponsors and Miss France 2016! A Mexican designer who studied in Paris wins the top prize in Brittany for a collection directed at the Asian market - proof that this year’s edition has a truly international scope.

This summer is a season of farewells. Alber Elbaz, creative head at Lanvin for almost 15 years, is leaving the luxury label. Hedi Slimane, after four years of extraordinary growth at Saint Laurent, is also off. Summer 2016’s silhouettes will have more than a little in common with iconic looks from the 60s to the 90s. As for textures, prepare for everything from dainty to rustic. It’s also time for colour to come to the fore.