Paris Couture Week: From Alaia to Chanel to Rodarte, here are the looks you need to see

By its very definition, “haute couture” brings us some of the most ambitious, inventive and stunning garments that fashion has to offer. Translated literally, “haute” is French for “high” and “couture” means “stitching,” and in practice, haute couture means that every bit of an outfit has been made by hand, from high-quality, expensive and sometimes unusual fabrics.

Given all that, Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week, held twice a year, is always one to watch, not just for trendcasting but for seeing how creative designers can get while trying to make fashion as artful as possible.

This Paris Couture Week, which started Sunday and ended Thursday, was one for the books, so we decided to round up all the looks you should see, from shows by Alaia and Chanel and Dior and Valentino and Fendi and beyond.

Proenza Schouler

Rodarte

Schiaparelli

Christian Dior

Giambattista Valli

Chanel

Ulyana Sergeenko

Giorgio Armani

Maison Margiela

Azzedine Alaia

Elie Saab

Jean Paul Gaultier

Viktor & Rolf

Zuhair Murad

Valentino

Fendi