The discussion about the rise and fall of haute couture has never stopped: Since the first haute couture salon opened its doors in Paris in 1858, to the impact of the ready-to-wear system, and to the continuous absorption of fresh blood in the haute couture system since the 21st century, for more than 100 years, regardless of the highs or lows, and regardless of how the standards and thresholds change, the core of the pursuit of haute couture - unparalleled exquisite craftsmanship - has never changed.

Let's start from the point of view of the craft, a glance at the infinite wonderful in the 2022 autumn/winter haute couture series.

In the era of all the emphasis on standardization and production, haute couture is perhaps one of the fields that does not conform to the development process of The Times.

However, contrary to what the outside world knows, the interior of haute couture has established a "paradise", maintaining the orderly operation of this unchanging handicraft world.

Among them, the largest "base" is Chanel's high-end workshop home Le 19M, which was completed in Paris last year.

In the building complex of more than 25,000 square meters, Chanel has gathered more than 600 artisans from more than 10 traditional handicrafts acquired since 1985, providing a powerful heart for the creation of haute couture series.

Virginie Viard, creative director of Chanel's boutique department, knows that the exquisite craftsmanship of the workshop must serve the haute couture uniform itself, and the actual needs of the wearer.

In the Autumn/Winter 2022 haute Couture collection, Viard continues the creative concept of the previous season and carries forward the hand-made skills in more everyday and practical couture pieces.

The most talked about are the three-dimensional embroidery works created by the workshop this season: The geometric patterns on the tight skirt are arranged in four consecutive forms. Each group uses 10 different sequins or beads, which are sewn into the fabric successively according to the pre-designed pattern direction. It takes 1,000 hours to make the geometric embroidery by Lesage Embroidery workshop.

The skilled artisans of Lesage Embroidery Workshop played with the same color sequins. A two-piece suit covered with silver sequins embroidery gave the extremely thin black organza a layer of silver armor with dense embroidery. Bright, matte, flat, three-dimensional and other types of beads were carefully arranged and combined to restore the effect of knitting and tweed. The order reveals randomness, shining and dazzling from a distance, delicate and shocking from a close look.

The attempt to break down the barriers between the workshops is also amazing, Montex embroidery workshop completed the green leaf pattern embroidery lace sleeveless coat, and Lognon ruffle workshop made the white silk tulle dress together to show the lightness and elegance rarely seen in the autumn and winter collection, lifelike green leaf embroidery and wind moving tulle. Awaken the memory of a romantic spring day; The signature suit in rose, a closer look of lace and tweed interweaving and blending, added a breath to an otherwise heavy coat.

There is no doubt that Chanel has the largest handicraft resources in the field of haute couture, but in Viard's view, mastering these resources and strength is not equivalent to the need to show off skills at all times, and the tangible workshop skills are presented in a silent way, which is the ideal effect in her mind.

"I like to break up shaped designs with invisible natural effects. Clothes always need to be light, soft and solid to wear, which is a prerequisite for all my work." "She said.

Mr. Christian Dior once said: "Couture represents exquisite craftsmanship to be treasured, the achievement of manual art, a masterpiece of skilled craftsmanship."

For him, 30 Avenue Montaigne is the base camp to show the charm of his handicraft, and Dior Couture has been stationed here since its inception.

Today, 30 Avenue Montaigne has been renovated for more than two years, reinforcing the brand's highest standards in couture.

Looking from the bay window of the boutique retail area downstairs to the top floor, the busy figure of the artisans can be seen, those complicated processes and rigorous processes, and Mr. Dior was no different when he was alive, they spent more than half a century, with a stitch to achieve the secret palace of high order.

"Some pieces are less conspicuous; It's 'invisible' to anyone but the customer." The "mysterious" nature of haute couture was used by Maria Grazia Chiuri, creative director of the brand's women's wear, in her design performance this season.

Those seemingly plain shapes conceal Chiuri's careful grasp of craftsmanship, which makes the design achieve the right balance of practicality and refinement.

The artist Olesia Trofymenko's use of embroidery techniques in landscape paintings caught Chiuri's attention: "When I saw this work, I could see that the embroidery was a reference to Ukrainian folk clothing."

Inspired by this, Dior's Autumn/Winter 2022 haute Couture collection, with the theme "Tree of Life", puts embroidery at the heart of the entire collection, blooming on cotton, wool crepe, silk and cashmere.

Exquisite plant pattern embroidery throughout the exhibition, the first appearance of the beige dress, made of cotton, silk and yarn woven in a variety of techniques of 3D three-dimensional rose pattern vividly interprets Dior and nature.

The most eye-catching work in the room was a coat embroidered with coiled patterns of plants on the back, which used French knotting, flower stem stitching and feather embroidery to make every flower and tree vivid.

The trim of the coat and jacket is made of wool and cotton blended thread, and the subtle gradations of colors reveal the three-dimensional relief effect of light and shadow.

In the world of Dior haute couture, the familiar plaid printed fabric in the garment starts from scratch with 3520 silk threads, which are hand-woven and interwoven to combine soft and gradual colors and patterns. However, due to the different efforts of craftsmen and the different environment, even the fixed manufacturing process will make the texture of each cloth go to different levels. This may be another appeal of high order.

As Chiuri said, more "invisible" processes are reflected in the production process, rather than appearing in the final product, just like the embroidery technique on cotton cloth. When the delicate and strong network structure is sewn by needle and thread, the blank part of the fabric will be removed, leaving only the embroidered pattern structure, forming a lace-like texture. It is also a very interesting "visual deception".

In fact, this season, the major old fashion houses are tending to hide the most extreme craftsmanship under the most concise design concept, in order to achieve a trend of "smooth things silent", which may also be the solution of these fashion houses to the problem of high fixed daily.