Muted colours at Chanel, Armani sparkles
Guests at the show included New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde and supermodel Naomi Campbell.
Gracie with Lorde, Laufey and Naomi Campbell at the Chanel Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2025/2026 show today in Paris, FR 🤍 (via WWD) pic.twitter.com/dwe8f1hhxW — Gracie Abrams Nation (@GRAClENATION) July 8, 2025
Models emerged from an ornate entrance, parading long- skirted dresses in soft toned tweeds, with touches of sparkles and tufts of feathers. They wore tight buns and tall boots, which left u-shaped heel indentations in the plush carpet on Tuesday.
Colours were muted, mostly ivory, beige and brown, but one silky dress came in a pale silvery blue, worn under a short, yellow-toned bomber jacket with a prominent, feathery collar.
The show was held in the Salon d'Honneur, a smaller space of the freshly-restored Grand Palais, marking a contrast with the soaring, central exhibition hall usually favoured by the label.
Facing a prolonged slump, many labels in the high-end fashion industry are renewing their design approach, with Kering-owned Gucci and Balenciaga, and LVMH's Dior among labels that have recently named new designers.
After the show, guests made their way slowly down grand staircases, stopping for photos of the building's elaborate ironwork and gilded wall decorations. Armani absent again
Giorgio Armani showed his latest Privé haute couture collection at the label's gilded Paris headquarters, displaying black velvet evening wear with shimmery touches on the runway - once again, without the Italian designer, who continues to rest at home.
"In twenty years of Armani Privé, this is the first time I haven't been to Paris," Armani, who turns 91 on Friday, said in a statement from the label.
The designer was also absent from his label's fashion shows in Milan last month - a first for the Italian designer famous for his hands-on approach - following a report from Italian newswires that he had spent some days in a Milan hospital.
For Tuesday's show, Armani said he oversaw details including fittings and makeup remotely, through a video link. Though he felt ready to travel, doctors advised he extend his rest, he added.
Held at the label's sprawling mansion in the heart of the wealthy Triangle d'Or neighbourhood of Paris, the show drew crowds to the streets angling for photos of arriving guests.
Inside, models walked slowly through a maze of rooms, parading black velvet pantsuits and slender dresses. There were tailcoats, oversize bows and glittering embellishments.
Towering black velvet heels added a feminine touch to more masculine looks, while sharp-shouldered suit jackets contrasted with bustier tops in various forms.
The Paris fall-winter haute couture fashion shows run through Thursday, also featuring runway outings from labels Schiaparelli, Iris van Herpen and Imane Ayissi, as well as Maison Margiela and Balenciaga.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
Society Insider: Marc Ellis to open wellness studio; Trelise Cooper's $10m apartment off the market; Andy Higgs new executive director role
Villafrana and Ellis have been dating since early last year. She has two young children with her former partner, Kiwi Blake Loveridge, while Ellis has four - two with ex-wife Augustina Mon, and two with his former partner, Italian Linda Codegoni. Marc Ellis and Mibella Villafana in Europe. Mibella Villafana and Marc Ellis. Originally from California, Villafrana moved to New Zealand a decade ago. She has a health and wellbeing background. She was a high school gymnast and coach, graduated from the University of California with a bachelor's degree in psychology, and is now a yoga instructor. Ellis registered Cora Club as a business last June, and Villafana says the premium wellness studio will offer Reformer Pilates, and contrast and intravenous therapy (IV), mixed into bespoke community events and corporate executive groups. A sneak peek at Cora, the new wellness space for women in Grey Lynn. Villafrana, whose father is Mexican, says the name for the new studio comes from the Mexican word Corazón, meaning heart. It can also refer to the courage or spirit of a person. This isn't Ellis's first foray into the wellness market. In 2019, Society Insider revealed he and then-girlfriend Codegoni opened Look Lab Medispa in Westmere, specialising in luxury treatments. Society Insider revealed last November that Ellis was part of the group of rich and famous Kiwis joining forces on the $100m Auckland Surf Park in Dairy Flat. Villafrana and Ellis enjoyed time together in Mexico last year, as well as taking in the Mediterranean summer. Earlier this year, the couple spent time at Aro Ha Wellness retreat in Glenorchy. Whilst there, Ellis joined Aro Ha founder Damian Chaparro in the Aro Ha sauna to record a podcast on how wellness keeps him grounded. Mibella Villafana and Marc Ellis. Ellis discussed love, saying, 'If you're in pursuit of love or in receipt of it, you're winning.' He also talked about the importance of empathy and teaching values to his children, how rugby has evolved and the importance of mental health in sports. Wellness lovers Mibella Villafana and Marc Ellis. Ellis returned to the airwaves last year, resurrecting popular TV show Sports Café as a podcast, alongside its creator, Ric Salizzo. Former co-stars, media personality Leigh Hart and Lana Coc-Kroft, also came back, and the podcast has become a top 10-rated show. They were thrilled last month when they won Podcast of the Year at the 2025 NZ Radio & Podcast Awards at SkyCity Theatre in Auckland. Dame Trelise takes $10m penthouse off the market Dame Trelise Cooper and her husband, Jack. Photo / Norrie Montgomery Fashion icon Dame Trelise Cooper and her husband, Jack, have taken their $10m St Heliers apartment off the market. Barfoot & Thompson's Aaron Foss tells Society Insider the couple is removing it for a year, 'and will see what's happening in the market in 2026'. When Society Insider contacted the Auckland offices of Trelise Cooper Ltd, we were told Dame Trelise, 67, was at her house in France, awaiting news of her son Jasper's first child, and she would be heading to California soon. In April last year, Cooper told the Herald that she and her husband already spent five months a year in their house in France and that they planned to buy a place in San Diego, in the United States, to be close to family. Once their St Heliers apartment sells, Cooper has said, she hopes to buy a smaller place in the same area, as well as one in California. 'Our son and his wife have made a life in San Diego with incredible careers. So, I am not waiting any more for him to come home, we are going to him. While we talk most days, I miss him and being in his presence.' Dame Trelise Cooper and her husband, Jack. Photo / Norrie Montgomery While she still designs daily and is in regular meetings with her business, at the beginning of last year Cooper stepped back from the day-to-day running of Trelise Cooper Ltd. Long-time employee Kate Devlin became CEO and now runs the fashion business alongside Cooper's trusted right-hand of more than 20 years, general manager Judith Pratt. The Coopers spent a reported $10m on their Buchan-designed Devore St 275sq m three-bedroom apartment in late 2022, on the third floor of the Sonata apartments. An apartment in the Sonata building on Devore St. The Sonata apartment building. Photo / Barfoot & Thompson The property passed in at auction in May last year. A few months earlier, a garden apartment in the same complex sold for $8.2m. Foss told Society Insider that when the Coopers' apartment does go back on the market, it will be for upwards of $8m. The couple sold their modernist Orakei home for more than $2.6m in late 2024. Just weeks after moving into Devore St, they put the palatial apartment up for sale. The Coopers' home in France is in a small medieval village near Toulouse. They have owned the house for 17 years and have lovingly restored parts of it, which date back 600 years. In April, son Jasper started working for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, where he leads data analytics, integration, and evaluation at LA County's largest provider of services for unhoused people. Andy Higgs' latest crusade for NZ Andy Higgs is crusading for New Zealand's digital sovereignty. Photo / Supplied After years of helping lay the foundations of Digital Identity New Zealand (DINZ), colourful businessman Andy Higgs has now become the organisation's executive director. Thanks to some high-profile support from more than 100 leading corporates, including Air NZ, Spark, major banks and leading tech companies, such as Xero, DINZ - a member of the NZTech Alliance - is working to enable Kiwis to have secure control over their data and online identity. The membership-funded, not-for-profit NGO is working with the private and public sectors, helping New Zealand companies lead the way in tech innovations. The aim is to enable Kiwis to have a safer digital footprint for e-commerce and ownership of their online identities. Higgs says this is increasingly important as the use of AI, automation and surveillance systems becomes more common. 'It's about how we retain agency over our data in a world of AI agents, deepfakes, and global digital ecosystems,' he tells Society Insider. 'As the world's innovation petri dish, New Zealand has a unique opportunity.' Higgs, 53, has been known as a connector throughout his 30-year career and maintains a tight circle from his King's College days. He lives with his wife, Rachel, and their three boys in a sprawling North Shore bungalow with sweeping views. In his guest house, Higgs has his own golf pro, Paul Parlane, famous for coaching A-listers including Sylvester Stallone, Pete Sampras, and David Beckham. Golf pro Paul Parlane and Andy Higgs at Piha. Higgs' first foray into dealing with local government and the media came when he and some friends, including Marc Ellis, made headlines fighting to open a café in Piha in 2009. Higgs and his associates later handed it over to be run by chef Lucas Parkinson, who turned it into Aryeh Restaurant in 2023. The Piha Café experience paved the way for Higgs to work at the Auckland Council, and to work his magic with Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development. 'I leveraged my network to create partnerships for Auckland, including Ian Ferguson's Wero Whitewater Park, Vector Lights and the Hyundai Marine Sports with Akarana,' Higgs says. Higgs is also a shareholder in Sarah and Otis Frizzell's successful business, The Lucky Taco. Higgs is now championing DINZ, working with the public and private sectors. 'The bigger picture is that digital sovereignty will help us get a more symbiotic relationship between NZ's growing tech scene and the overseas tech giants,' he says. Andy Higgs at a Tech Week event on digital infrastructure at Parliament. Higgs has previously worked with tech titan Aaron McDonald on a portfolio of Web3 companies specialising in decentralised product and service companies, including AI and blockchain tools provider Futureverse. In 2018, they approached the chief executive at NZ Tech, Graham Muller, to establish DINZ to advocate for the world's first decentralised credential identity ecosystem. Before our interview, Higgs had just spoken to the country's leading tech billionaire, Rod Drury. 'Rod's view is that digital identity will unlock the next wave of unicorn companies [high-value start-ups],' says Higgs. Higgs will talk at Anna Mowbray's Revved 2025 conference early next month at Auckland's Viaduct Events Centre. He says he admires Mowbray's announcement on LinkedIn last week that she had deleted all her Meta social media channels, calling it a 'profound safety move for future generations'. Anna Mowbray. Like Mowbray, Higgs is also a big supporter of the B416 campaign. Co-founded and chaired by entrepreneur Cecilia Robinson, the lobby group is advocating for a minimum age of 16 to access social media in New Zealand. He was pleased to see Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and high-profile Kiwis at the launch at Mantell's on Tamaki Drive in May. Sam Wallace and Andy Higgs at the B416 launch at Mantell's in May. Photo / Supplied Now, Higgs is focused on his Digital Trust Hui at Te Papa in Wellington, a conference of digital identity innovators, regulators, researchers, educators, entrepreneurs and leading executives in the commerce and tech sectors. Higgs says the Government's new Digital Identity Services Trust Framework, with rules covering online security and identity, is in step with how local corporates are innovating. He highlights Spark's investment in MATTR (TrustTech solutions) as one corporate leading the way. Judith Collins. Photo / Mark Mitchell Speaking at the conference will be the Minister of Defence Judith Collins, as well as the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Scott Simpson, with Higgs telling Society Insider that 'security and commerce sit hand in hand'. Party people of the week Romeo & Juliet Season Auckland Theatre Company (ATC) opened its latest production on Thursday evening, William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet directed by Benjamin Kilby-Henson. Set as a fast-paced thriller in 1960s Italy, the production stars Shortland Street star Theo Dāvid as Romeo and One Lane Bridge's Phoebe McKellar as Juliet. Peter Goodfellow and Desley Simpson at the ATC premiere of Romeo & Juliet at the ASB Waterfront Theatre. Photo / Jinki Cambronero Before the show's opening, ATC's Artistic Director and CEO Jonathan Bielski and Kilby-Henson, who is ATC's Artistic Associate, hosted guests who enjoyed Villa Maria wines and pizza. The star-studded opening night was attended by a who's who of Auckland governance, theatre, culture and arts, including Auckland Council CEO Phil Wilson and Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson and her husband Rich lister, Peter Goodfellow, Shortland Street alumni Bella Kalolo-Suraj and her husband Suraj Kumar, local It girls Sophie Negus and Coco May, TVNZ's Isobel Prasad, and fashion legend Dame Denise L'Estrange-Corbet. Romeo & Juliet is on until August 9 at the ASB Waterfront Theatre. Micah Heath and Ari Peach. Photo / Jinki Cambronero Dame Denise L'Estrange-Corbet and Teresa Sokolich. Photo / Jinki Cambronero Graham Vincent and Kellie-Michelle Cheung. Photo / Robert Trathern Catriona and Eliza Ferguson. Photo / Jinki Cambronero Lachie Oliver-Kirby and Ni Dekkers-Reihana. Photo / Jinki Cambronero Richard Sikuea and Lisa Zhang. Photo / Jinki Cambronero Sophie Negus and Coco May. Photo / Robert Trathen Suraj Kumar and Bella Kalolo-Suraj. Photo / Robert Trathen Keven Souza and Theo Shakes. Photo / Jinki Cambronero Odd Socks Ahoy Odd Socks Productions – founded by the small yet mighty creative team of Yvie Harvie-Salter and Daryl Habraken - celebrated its first birthday in style aboard charter boat Wasting Light on Auckland's Viaduct Harbour on Friday. They were joined by clients and colleagues who have supported them throughout their first 12 months. Yvie Harvie-Salter and Daryl Habraken at their Odd Socks Productions' first birthday party on board the charter boat, Wasting Light. Photo / Octavio Benitez Laje The company specialises in commercial, documentary and content creation. Harvie-Salter and Habraken gave thanks, sharing with their guests lashings of bubbles, fine wine, and a collection of Waiheke Distilling Co's gins and RTDs. Yvie Harvie-Salter and Brian Thorrington. Photo / Octavio Benitez Laje Guests also dined on canapés from the onboard crew led by Jodie Vaughan, and a handcrafted Basque cheesecake from Nosh Clan catering. An eclectic group of guests and partners joined the festivities, including music promoter Ramesh Premaratna, DJs Chris EM and Rich Parker, Detective Inspector Scott Beard, author and advocate Gloria Masters, socialite Marlana Ritchie, Adam Brami, Director of Art of the Possible agency; Honorary Consul Brian Thorrington, co-founder of Fleetwood and stylist Jackie Houghton, and Tanya Walshe of Waiheke Distilling Co. Gloria Masters and Scott Beard. Photo / Octavio Benitez Laje Andrew Farrant and Chris Boyd. Photo / Octavio Benitez Laje Ramesh Premaratna, Tammy Janwattana and Chris Moody. Photo / Octavio Benitez Laje Stephen Salter and Lynette Harvie. Photo / Octavio Benitez Laje Injecting Elegance Affair LA Aire, a New Zealand cosmetic medicine consultancy and training organisation, held its Injecting Elegance evening at the Park Hyatt Auckland on Saturday evening. LA Aire provides support to registered nurses, oral health therapists, and pharmacists through NZSCM-accredited doctors and connects clinicians to exclusive, industry-leading brands. The evening brought together some of the country's top cosmetic industry leaders, clinicians, and media for a memorable night of cocktails and networking. LA Aire founders Dr Nameer Wadea and Dr Peter Aspell hosted guests who included the CEO of The Diamond Shop, Sera Lynn, former Real Housewife and beauty maven Angela Stone, ihartpr's Jade Hart, Aotearoa Aesthetics' Shalu Shankar, Inhance Cosmetic Clinic's Weilim Shin and Laser Clinic's Selina Fernandes. Sirinya Rikau, Selina Fernandes, Nameer Wadea, Weilim Shin and Bomy Lee. Photo / Norrie Montgomery Shalu Shankar, Angela Stone and Jade Hart. Photo / Norrie Montgomery Kaitlin Chapman and Casarah Cooper. Photo / Norrie Montgomery Gemma Bryenton, Sian Bennett and Amy Carlyon. Photo / Norrie Montgomery Kim Wright, Leisa McGill and Kirsty Smith. Photo / Norrie Montgomery Lin-Jing Wang and Julia Liu. Photo / Norrie Montgomery Ricardo Simich has been with the Herald since 2008 where he contributed to The Business Insider. In 2012 he took over Spy at the Herald on Sunday, which has since evolved into Society Insider. The weekly column gives a glimpse into the worlds of the rich and famous.
NZ Herald
5 days ago
- NZ Herald
Listener's Songs of the Week: New tracks by Blood Orange featuring Lorde, Nine Inch Nails, David Byrne, and more
Lorde's choirmaster Dev Hynes, aka Blood Orange. Photo / Michael Lavine Reviews Mind Loaded by Blood Orange, featuring Caroline Polachek, Lorde & Mustafa UK producer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist Blood Orange (Devonté Hynes) arranges himself quite a choir on this dreamy, airy, melancholy bit of chamber pop, driven by a gently arpeggiating piano before talking a harsh left-turn with a minute to go. It's one of two advance tracks from his first solo album since 2018, Essex Honey. The Lorde vocal cameos follow Hynes' cello, bass, synth, and guitar playing on the Virgin track Favourite Daughter and him being a support act on her forthcoming Ultrasound world tour. – Russell Baillie She Explains Things to Me By David Byrne, Ghost Train Orchestra Byrne's amusing ode to male befuddlement might be partly inspired by Rebecca Solnit's 2014 book Men Explain Things to Me which popularised the phrase 'mansplaining.' But it could also be read as a sweet love song from this spry 73-year-old's coming solo album, one that sounds like it will be fun to put on the gramophone right after Talking Heads' Remain in Light at my next rest home happy hour. – Russell Baillie As Alive as You Need Me to Be by Nine Inch Nails Welcome to a brief sub-section of this week's column devoted to bands you might have once seen at a Big Day Out (younger readers, ask an uncle). Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have had a dignified parallel career as creators of movie soundtracks since the BDO era, while Reznor has occasionally dusted off his old Nine Inch Nails band-brand. Here, under the NIN banner, they unleash the first song off the soundtrack to the new Tron film – Daft Punk did the last one – and the instantly anthemic As Alive as You Need Me to Be should have fans of Reznor's electro-goth-rock beginnings from his Pretty Hate Machine era wondering where the time has gone? – Russell Baillie My Mind is a Mountain by Deftones And now for your daily dose of angst-filled, shouty, head-crunching, decibel-abusing Californian metal from a band which played the BDO a couple of times. Claustrophobic consciousness metal? 'The storm remains and my heart's entrenched. Fate explores me now. Why do we bathe in this psyche?' It's a good, loudly delivered, question. – Graham Reid Desire by Georgia Knight Like a sensual trip-hopped Kate Bush, this steamy single from Melbourne-based expat Knight is a deep and smoky dive into interesting new territory. She tours with Folk Bitch Trio in September, and it'll be interesting to see how something like this slice of nightclub/noir art-pop plays out live. Meantime check it out. If it signals a new album let's hope she gets on with it. – Graham Reid Sundog by Babe Martin Babe Martin (Auckland's Zoe Larsen Cumming) possesses an extraordinary voice which here opens high and lonely then just keeps pushing upward as this confident piece becomes a swelling slice of something beyond folk and moves into evocative art music. If we judge people by the company they keep it's worth noting in her circle is Jazmine Mary, that's good company. Debut EP Not a Bee, but a Wasp coming soon. Definitely one to watch out for. – Graham Reid Give Into My Fears by Jamaica Moana As on previous singles Living Out West and Keep It Real, this Sydney-based, Samoan-Māori, queer artist – with links to the Hokianga and Waikato – keeps the backing stripped right back so her rap messages come through with clarity. It's about creating herself, assertion, the drive towards fame ('I've been doing this for years') and never compromising. She's convincing. Six-song debut EP Bud & Deni (named for her parents) out August 1. -- Graham Reid Death in the Family by The Sophs Who would have thought 'WEEZER-like' would become a thing? But here the LA-based alt-pop Sophs tap into a Weezerness with a song which is droll and disturbing ('I need a death in the family to turn my page') which cleaves a bit too close to Weezer to be totally satisfying. But the message of seeking redemption for past mistakes is interesting. Too soon to send flowers, and this only their second single (their previous Sweat was more convincing) so maybe that Next Big Thing description could go on hold for a while. – Graham Reid Time by Curtis Harding Vocally, American soul man Harding can deliver from the tradition of classic Motown and Stax artists (Temptations, Rufus Thomas, and other raw singers). But on this drum-driven single he initially dispenses with horns and backing vocals which means he immediately catches attention. When those other elements arrive there's tension and a sense of desperation which cleverly winds down into a moody second half. A crafted and quietly compelling notice of a new, as yet unscheduled, album. – Graham Reid Fine by Meg Washington, featuring Paul Kelly Seasoned Brisbane singer-songwriter Meg Washington ropes in wise elder Paul Kelly for a tight-harmony duet that runs a fine line between subdued country folk ballad and uplifting ode to surviving the storm. 'Everything's going to be fine,' they sing on a gentle song that snowballs into something Cohen-esque and hymn-like. Would suit a choir treatment which brings us to … – Russell Baillie Didn't It Rain by the New Zealand Youth Choir, Karen Grylls conductor We've always produced good choirs. It's not surprising – famously, more New Zealanders sing in choirs than play rugby. Our leading choirs, though, are much better than good. They proved it again recently during the NZ Youth Choir's Northern Hemisphere tour, where, under the stewardship of music director David Squire, they've won two major competitions. They took top honours at the Grand Prix of Nations at the European Choir Games in Denmark, and a few days later were named Choir of the World at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales. It's not the first time they've claimed the latter title – they won in 1999, too. It's from that competition that this recording of NZ composer David Hamilton's Didn't It Rain comes. Go Kiwi. – Richard Betts Dig Deep by Fat Freddy's Drop You could spend a long time looking for a track that showed what the late Chris Faiumu brought to Fat Freddy's Drop. This, from 2021's album Wairunga and accompanying concert film (see below) shows him effortlessly busy in the electronic engine room that he built and powered the band with. – Russell Baillie
NZ Herald
6 days ago
- NZ Herald
Visitor eats $6.2m banana artwork at French museum
A visitor to a French museum bit into a fresh banana worth millions of dollars taped to a wall last week, exhibitors said on Friday, in the latest such consumption of the conceptual artwork. Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan - whose provocative creation entitled Comedian was bought for $6.2 million ($10.4m)
