Your Cheat Sheet to the Spring 2017 Shows at Couture Fashion Week

Coco Rocha Plays a Fairy Bride as Jean Paul Gaultier
Photo: Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty

If pressed, we'd have to say Couture Fashion Week is our absolute most favorite (sorry, ready-to-wear). It celebrates the commitment to superior craftsmanship, unleashed creativity (due in large part to the freedom from commercial demands), and considered design. In short, we love it because everything's just so damn pretty.

And of course, all that prettiness comes with some major moments, like an actual secret garden come to life (re-watch the Dior Haute Couture show here) or the stars who can't help but be enamored by it all from the front row, or fluffy gowns so gargantuan in size, they span the entire width (and sometimes the length) of the runway. Scroll through for a play-by-play of what's happening at the spring 2017 shows.

01 of 20

Trapped Flowers at Dior

Trapped Flowers at Dior
Estrop/Getty (2); Dominique Charriau/WireImage

The main source of inspiration for artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri: a secret garden-like labyrinth. For her first Haute Couture collection, she fused those elements into her design as she referenced Christian Dior himself who once wrote: "After women, flowers are the most divine of creations. They are so delicate and charming, but they must be used carefully." As such, gowns were intended to symbolize the passing of the seasons and of life, with flowers entrapped by layers of tulle, like "our most prized herbariums."

02 of 20

Dior's Secret Garden

Dior's Secret Garden
Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty

Set at the Rodin Museum, the Dior Haute Couture show was staged to reflect artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri's source of inspiration: "the labryinth; irregular, almost impenetrable, like a secret garden."

03 of 20

Standout Headpieces at Dior

Christian Dior Haute Couture 
Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho/WireImage

Fairy tale dresses were offset by hats and masks by Stephen Jones, which brought "an aspect of gothic phantasmagoric with a punk edge." There were black butterfly, spider, and moth crinoline masks, along with floral crowns and whimsical star-struck headbands.

04 of 20

Kirsten Dunst and Diane Kruger at Dior

Kirsten Dunst and Diane Kruger
Victor Boyko/Getty

Among the stars to sit in Dior's enchanting secret garden were Diane Kruger and Kirsten Dunst, both clad in head-to-toe Dior.

05 of 20

High-Tech Fashion at Iris Van Herpen

High-Tech Fashion at Iris Van Herpen
Estrop/Getty (2)

The star of the "Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology" exhibit has struck again with riveting see-through tulle embedded with "water" droplets.

06 of 20

Schiaparelli's Love Motifs

Schiaparelli's Love Motifs
Catwalking/Getty (2); PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP/Getty

Elsa Schiaparelli's famous lobster has crawled back into another collection. For spring 2017, the brand's creative director, Bertrand Guyon, paid homage to the original designer with a crustacean motif, along with hearts outlined on dresses, blazers, and footwear, and cut-out keyholes.

07 of 20

Over-the-Top Ear Cuffs at Georges Hobeika

Over-the-Top Ear Cuffs at Georges Hobeika
ALAIN JOCARD/AFP/Getty

And the winner for best earrings goes to Georges Hobeika, who finished each floral look with these amazing ear cuff creations.

08 of 20

Giambattista Valli's Famous Cupcake Dresses

Giambattista Valli's Famous Cupcake Dresses
Swan Gallet/WWD/REX/Shutterstock

They're back! With a sunny shade and new runway-sweeping silhouettes.

09 of 20

Alessandra Ambrosio Closes Ralph & Russo As Bride

Alessandra Ambrosio Closes Ralph & Russo As Bride
Richard Bord/Getty

Supermodel cameo alert: Alessandra Ambrosio wrapped up the Ralph & Russo Couture show in an exquisitely embroidered wedding dress with a dramatic ostrich feather-lined cape.

10 of 20

It-Girl Runway at Chanel Haute Couture

It-Girl Runway at Chanel Haute Couture
Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho/WireImage (2)

Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid gave the Chanel Haute Couture runway a hit of It-girl star power.

11 of 20

Lily-Rose Depp, the Chanel Couture Bride

Chanel - Spring 2017 Couture - LEAD
Getty

Lily-Rose Depp had the honor of taking on the role of Chanel Haute Couture bride—she wore a ruffled tiered wedding cake of a dress in blush pink.

12 of 20

The Stereotypes at Vetements Couture

The Stereotypes at Vetements Couture
Kay-Paris Fernandes/Getty

Demna Gvasalia cast a group of real-world characters to make a poignant statement about diversity.

13 of 20

Sunny D-Lite at Giorgio Armani Prive

Sunny D-Lite at Giorgio Armani Prive
Catwalking/Getty (3)

Designer Giorgio Armani committed to a citrus color palette, saturating satin dresses, wispy numbers, sleek jumpsuits, and puffed-up jackets in the orange shade.

14 of 20

Alexandre Vauthier Hikes Up the Hemline

Alexandre Vauthier Hikes Up the Hemline
David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock; Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho/WireImage

And presented a parade of micro-short mini dresses, modeled by Bella Hadid (twice!) and Kendall Jenner.

15 of 20

Couture Specs at Elie Saab

Couture Specs at Elie Saab
Dominique Charriau/WireImage

High-fashion eyewear to match high-fashion gowns at Elie Saab Haute Couture.

16 of 20

The Faces of Maison Martin Margiela

The Faces of Maison Martin Margiela
FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty (3)

Embroidered on rain coats, outlined in tulle, sketched on headpieces—John Galliano unveiled the many faces of Margiela at Couture Fashion Week.

17 of 20

Pierpaolo Piccioli's Solo Valentino Couture Debut

Pierpaolo Piccioli's Solo Valentino Couture Debut
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty (3)

For his first independent Valentino Couture collection, Piccioli stripped away the frills and relied on classic, beautifully minimalist gowns.

18 of 20

Reconstructed Vintage Dresses at Viktor & Rolf

Reconstructed Vintage Dresses at Viktor & Rolf
Estrop/Getty (3)

Design duo Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren continued to explore the concept of "conscious design" (see last season's) by deconstructing, repairing, and piecing back together eveningwear from various decades.

19 of 20

A Collection That J.Lo Will Love

A Collection That J.Lo Will Love
FRANCOIS GUILLOT/Getty, FRANCOIS GUILLOT/Getty, Thierry Chesnot/Getty

Including sexy jumpsuits, all-over embellishment, and sheer caped gowns (here are our picks for the star).

20 of 20

Coco Rocha Plays a Fairy Bride as Jean Paul Gaultier

Coco Rocha Plays a Fairy Bride as Jean Paul Gaultier
Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty

Ever the showman, Jean-Paul Gaultier cast a a male model to play an overall-wearing farmer and Coco Rocha as a fairy (or butterfly?) bride for the finale. He wheeled her down the runway in a wheelbarrow and it ended with a kiss.

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