DUBAI: Lebanese influencer Nathalie Fanj is making quite the statement at Paris Couture Week as she sits on the coveted front row, enjoys the snow and braves the city’s cobbled streets in stilettos.
Although temperatures in Paris are hovering around the zero mark, the style maverick isn’t letting the cold weather stop her from putting on a show of her own.
She stepped out this week wearing an oversized yellow coat over an all-black outfit, paired with knee-high boots and a canary yellow bag.
That wasn’t the only look she has served so far, however, Fanj took to the streets of Paris in an on-trend plaid outfit in a shade of blue, which she matched with white lace-up boots and heavy, cobalt blue eyeshadow for a 1960s-inspired look.
The stylish blogger gave her 377,000 Instagram followers a peek at the glamorous Ralph & Russo show on Monday and then attended a show by Lebanese designer Rami Kadi, held on the sidelines of Paris Couture Week.
The influencer has been sharing picturesque photos of the city and even took to a Parisian garden to share a snapshot of the snow, which she captioned “so magical.”
The world’s leading couturiers have been showcasing their most extravagant designs during the fashion week that wraps up on Jan. 24.
For its part, Chanel showcased 18th century-inspired couture inside a sunlit Italian villa, but the headline-making point of the show was that head designer Karl Lagerfeld didn’t take his usual bow — the house said because the octogenarian designer was “tired.”
Other highlights of the collections on show on Tuesday include Givenchy’s runway lineup and Giorgio Armani’s classic couture, the Associated Press reported.
British designer Waight Keller, who had until 2017 never touched couture, produced a jaw-dropping collection for Givenchy on Tuesday evening that demonstrated a surprising mastery.
To moving operatic arias, diverse designs dipped into fresh creative explorations — all from the base-note of black.
Black latex leggings shimmered like an oil-slick to begin the collection and introduce a textural contrast against an elderberry-colored architectural bar jacket with one single white lapel. It looked like a bolt of lightning.
If a bolt of lightning was meant as a visual metaphor for the 42-piece collection, it was fitting.
Meanwhile, Giorgio Armani’s couture collection showed off the fashion icon’s famed cutting skills through tailored jackets.
The Armani Prive collection threw to the wind any real interest in evoking a spring/summer season, or a trend or any up-to-the-minute fad.
At the second of Tuesday’s double-shows, alongside Chanel, Armani Prive showcased a series of archetypically couture looks in the exclusive Hotel d’Evreux in the Place Vendome that made statements of their own with shimmer and bold color.
Billowing silken Asian-style pants shimmered below tops that contrasted in their color or texture — in checks, sequins or paillettes.
The designs could have featured in any of the designers shows of the last few years without looking out of place.
But as Yves Saint Laurent once said, “fashions come and go, style is eternal.”
