The Cool Drop: The Five Female Creative Directors of Haute Couture
Twenty-nine houses showed couture this season. Only five were led by women.
Haute Couture Week is entrancing. A visual language of fantasy, craft, and excess, designed for a privileged few but consumed by many. From the sets to the silhouettes, couture exists as fashion at its most imaginative. Art meant to be worn.
As I made my way through post-show imagery this season, something became impossible to ignore. The lack of female representation at the creative helm. Not on the runway. Behind it.
That’s not to say this season failed to move me. Quite the opposite. I was reminded of everything I have always loved about fashion. The theatricality. The otherworldly aesthetics. The moments so visually arresting that language feels inadequate. You don’t need to explain why it’s special. You simply know.
This season gave us Jonathan Anderson’s Christian Dior. Alessandro Michele’s Valentino. Daniel Roseberry’s Schiaparelli. All clear reminders that you do not need to be born female to design for women with sensitivity, intelligence, and beauty.
Still, it is women I want to see more of. Especially in industries where we so clearly dominate as consumers, patrons, and cultural drivers.
So this week’s Cool Drop highlights the five fashion houses led by female creative directors during Spring Haute Couture Week. (This count reflects houses listed on the official Haute Couture calendar, excluding invited presentations.) The women behind them, the collections they presented, and the moments that stayed with me.
Silvana Armani for Armani Privé
Silvana Armani, the niece of Giorgio Armani, spent more than four decades working alongside him. For the last twenty years, she served as his closest collaborator on the Armani Privé couture collection.
Following his recent passing, this season marked her first as sole Creative Director. A debut that felt quietly powerful. Feminine, elegant without excess, and couture with an unmistakable sense of wearability.
Julie De Libran
The collection from the eponymous brand of former Prada alumna Julie De Libran was inspired by the iris. Once a symbol of royalty in French history, the flower carries meanings of faith, hope, and wisdom. Themes that felt especially resonant here.
The inspiration was also deeply personal. An homage to De Libran’s French grandmother, who lived in Provence, not far from where Vincent van Gogh painted his iconic irises. Her grandmother was a painter, seamstress, and knitter, and it was through her that De Libran was first introduced to dressmaking.
With that context, the collection reads intuitively. Modest tailoring appeared alongside layered silhouettes and textured treatments that felt quietly subversive. It was a portrait of the modern French woman shaped by lineage rather than nostalgia. Grounded in history and informed by craft.
Sohee Park for Miss Sohee
Originally from Seoul and not yet thirty, Sohee Park presented a couture collection that felt like the most refined form of fantasy. Couture as modern costume, where every piece carried a once-in-a-lifetime quality.
The work lived at the intersection of childlike imagination and grown-up fairytale. Dreamed-up silhouettes, ornate craftsmanship, and theatrical detail that edged into excess, but with intention. A world I would happily step into.
Sofia Crociani for Aelis
Under the direction of founder Sofia Crociani, the house continued its commitment to a modern vision of couture. The collection unfolded through sculptural silhouettes, elongated lines, and a palette that allowed form and fabrication to take precedence. There was a sense of calm precision throughout, garments shaped with architectural clarity rather than theatrical flourish.
True to the house’s philosophy, sustainability remained integral. The collection was crafted using existing fabrics and surplus materials, reinforcing Aelis’s belief that innovation and responsibility can coexist at the highest level of craftsmanship.
Celia Kritharioti
Founded in 1906, Celia Kritharioti is the oldest couture house in Greece, and one of the few remaining couture maisons still led by its founding family. Today, Celia Kritharioti herself stands at the helm, carrying more than a century of craftsmanship into the present with remarkable confidence.
This collection was nothing short of breathtaking. A full-bodied expression of fantasy and femininity, executed with an almost obsessive level of detail. Sculpted bodices, dramatic volume, intricate embellishment, and fluid movement worked together to create garments that felt otherworldly yet exacting in their construction.
It was a reminder of what couture is meant to do when done well. Transport you. Overwhelm you. Leave you momentarily speechless. A holy shit show, in the most reverent sense of the phrase.
Until next time,
Kelly