Couture Fashion Week in Paris, 2021

Couture Fashion Week wrapped up in Paris, marking one of the most exciting moments on the fashion calendar that we've experienced in a long while. We saw Jean Paul Gaultier's collaboration with Sacai revealed for the first time, something fans have been waiting for since it was first announced back in March 2020.

Some brands chose to present their collections digitally, either via fashion films or shoots, or both, while others put on physical catwalk shows with a front row filled with guests. Below, we round up the highlights from the shows and presentations. Here is everything you need to see from couture autumn/winter 2021.

Kim Jones' second couture collection for Fendi was revealed via a beautiful fashion film directed by Luca Guadagnino, which starred supermodel Kate Moss and was a celebration of "the eternal beauty of Rome". The designer described the collection as "a contemporary connection between eras, cultures and aesthetics".

It was a long-awaited moment when Demna Gvasalia presented Balenciaga's couture collection this week, the first for the house in more than 50 years. The show took place at a fully restored version of founder Cristóbal Balenciaga’s original couture salon, which has been closed for five decades.

Last March, just before the world was turned upside down by the pandemic, Jean Paul Gaultier announced that it would be collaborating with Sacai. The collection was finally revealed. In it, Chitose Abe of Sacai had her first chance working with haute couture and brought her trademark touches onto Gaultier's archive, giving a modern twist to some of his most iconic pieces.

It is always a glamorous affair on the Zuhair Murad catwalk and in this couture collection, the first since the designer's atelier was destroyed in the devastating explosion in Beirut, he wanted to look forward. "I wanted to show it in a physical format as a celebration of renewal and hope," he said. "My clients almost demanded it. They want to enjoy life, go out again, buy new pieces and look beautiful, resuming a sense of luxe fastueux."

"The Viktor & Rolf haute couture autumn/winter 2021 collection is inspired by the new generation of royals and their attempt to show a human reality behind the facade of an institution," the designers explained of the new collection, which featured a selection of looks, each comprising of a dress, a coat, and a sash, all of which were adorned with reignited Swarovski crystals.