ENGLISH VERSION: Haute Couture Week from a Visitors’ Perspective – Read Sofia Vinnichuk’s Diary
Paris Fashion Week has come to a successful close, and LA VIE EN ROSE team captured some of the most crucial moments from the show. Now that one of the most important fashion events in the world has ended, we invite you to read the impressions of someone who experienced it all – from the front row.
Step into the diary of a fashion enthusiast and influencer Sofia Vinnichuk, who embodies elegance and femininity through her daily Instagram posts.
“For me Haute Couture is the week when fashion goes way beyond fashion.”
There are few moments in the year when Paris shifts from being simply beautiful to entirely surreal. Haute Couture Week is one of them. The city just starts to live differently: the rhythm slows down, and every corner whispers elegance.
This season, I had the opportunity to be in the heart of the action, from fittings in Le Marais to shows at Palais de Tokyo and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, I lived the Haute Couture week hour by hour. And here’s what stayed with me.
1. Behind the scenes: the preparation to the week
Before the week begins, there’s the always a crucial first step: preparing and assembling looks. To explore my outfit options, I went to Items Paris, a concept store in the Marais area, featuring the most refined collections from Ukrainian designers. Among my favorites: Balykina, Bevza, Frolov, Jamemme and more.
I am convinced that there’s something empowering about wearing pieces that carry both craftsmanship and cultural depth. And for me fashion it’s also a way to tell a story, so I always make sure every look I wear says something, even if it’s just “I feel like myself in this.”
2. Four days, four shows
This season I attended four couture shows over four days. Each one left me breathless in a different way. It felt like moving through four worlds, each with its own language.
The collection was inspired by memories of rural Vietnam: early summer sun, barefoot children playing, a quiet river passing through a village. He brought all of that to life through clean silhouettes, floating layers, and sculptural shapes referencing the iconic nón lá hat.
I left the show thinking: this is what happens when couture tells a real story. We could see it in every detail of the looks.
Lena Erziak’s show had something very rare: you could feel the woman behind every look. Nothing felt overdone: just a confident kind of femininity. One of the most touching parts for me was seeing my friend Anastasia Dagtyarenko, a Ukrainian top model based in France, walk the show. There’s something powerful about seeing someone you know step into that kind of spotlight, completely in her element.
Held at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the setting already told you this was going to be something special. The venue was already setting the perfect stage for Rolland’s sculptural couture. I found myself seated in a room with Cardi B, Leonie Hanne, Pia Wurtzbach, and other fashion powerhouses. The designer drew inspiration from Josephine Baker and Brâncuși, and you could feel both the glamour and the geometry in the silhouettes. Dresses moved like sculpture: razor-sharp shoulders, exaggerated collars, floor-length silk, and tulle that floated like a dream.
Presented at the Indian Embassy just steps from the Eiffel Tower, this show felt like a heartfelt celebration of heritage and modernity. Each piece was meticulously handwoven, made entirely from 100 % natural, artisanal textiles sourced from Indian weavers who partnered with Vaishali S. It was a true devotion to craft and sustainability. The whole collection reminded me what real couture is: not just fashion, but meaning.
Balenciaga by Demna: the exhibition
Between the shows, I stepped into the Balenciaga by Demna exhibition. The space presented 101 curated pieces displayed alongside recorded voice notes by Demna himself, explaining the stories and inspirations behind each look. It didn’t feel like a fashion archive. It felt like stepping into someone’s memories. Inspired by identity, nostalgia, and the poetry of the everyday, the whole exhibition felt more like a personal letter from Demna to both Balenciaga and the world. The whole exhibition felt like stepping behind the curtain on a decade of Demna at Balenciaga, all the more powerful knowing this Haute Couture Week was his last season leading the house.
3. Paris during Haute Couture
Paris during Haute Couture is nothing like Paris during regular Fashion Week. It’s quieter, more intentional, as if the city knows it’s holding something exceptional. During ready-to-wear weeks, Paris moves fast: crowded streets, overbooked drivers, everyone in a huge rush. But during Haute Couture, everything slows down. Not because there’s less happening, but because everything feels more elegant and elevated.
4. What Haute Couture means to me
There’s something about Haute Couture in Paris that’s impossible to recreate anywhere else. It feels like the most perfect match: both speak the same language of detail, elegance, and intention. For me, Haute Couture represents the highest level of vision, craftsmanship, and possibility. This is where creativity has no ceiling. Where designers build entire worlds, and we get to step inside.
Unlike women’s ready-to-wear weeks, here everything moves slower. Even the models take their time on the runway, giving you the chance to really observe the richness of every detail. The runways become museums, and the garments turn into living sculptures or paintings, giving you the immersive sensation of being inside the artwork itself. And that’s what makes it so special: Haute couture is the week when fashion goes way beyond fashion.
5. See you during Paris Fashion Week in September?
This week reminded me why I do what I do: not just to wear fashion, but to experience it, and to share it. What stays with me is not only the front rows, cameras, and models. It’s also the way fashion, at its highest level, can still surprise you, even if you thought you had seen it all. Now I’m curious what Paris is preparing for us this September.
SRPSKA VERZIJA: Nedelja visoke mode iz ugla posetilaca – pročitajte dnevnik Sofie Vinnichuk
Nedelja mode u Parizu se završila poprilično uspešno, a ekipa magazina LA VIE EN ROSE zabeležila je brojne kadrove sa lica mesta. Nakon što se završio jedan od najvažnijih modnih događaja u svetu, želimo da pročitate utiske jednog posetioca, iz prvog reda.
Zavirite u dnevnik modnog entuzijaste i influenserke Sofie Vinnichuk koja neguje eleganciju i ženstvenost kroz svoje svakodnevne objave na instagramu.
Postoje poneki trenuci u godini kada Pariz iz stanja “jednostavno prelepog” pređe u potpuno nadrealno. Nedelja visoke mode je jedan od tih trenutaka. Grad počinje da diše drugačijim ritmom: sve usporava, a svaki ugao šapuće eleganciju. Ove sezone imala sam priliku da budem u samom srcu dešavanja – od proba u četvrti Le Marais do revija u Palais de Tokyo i Théâtre des Champs-Élysées – živela sam ovu nedelju sat po sat.
A evo i šta mi je ostalo urezano u sećanje:
1. Iza scene: priprema za nedelju
Pre nego što nedelja i počne, postoji onaj prvi, ključni korak: priprema i sastavljanje autfita.
Da bih istražila svoje modne opcije, posetila sam Items Paris, koncept prodavnicu u Maraisu koja nudi probrane kolekcije ukrajinskih dizajnera. Među mojim favoritima: Balykina, Bevza, Frolov, Jamemme i drugi. Uverena sam da postoji nešto osnažujuće u nošenju komada koji nose zanatsku veštinu i dubinu. Za mene moda nije samo estetika – ona priča priču. Zato uvek pazim da svaka kombinacija koju nosim nešto poručuje – makar to bilo: “Ovako se osećam u potpunosti svoja”.
2. Četiri dana, četiri revije
Ove sezone prisustvovala sam četiri couture revije u četiri dana. Svaka me ostavila bez daha na svoj način. Kao da sam se kretala kroz četiri sveta, svaki sa sopstvenim jezikom.
Inspiraciju je crpeo iz sećanja na ruralni Vijetnam: rani letnji sunčani dani, deca koja bosa trče, tiha reka kroz selo. Sve je to pretočeno u čiste siluete, lepršave slojeve i skulpturalne forme koje podsećaju na legendarni šešir nón lá. Napustila sam reviju misleći: “Ovako izgleda kada visoka moda ispriča pravu priču.”
Revija Lene Erziak imala je nešto veoma retko: mogla se osetiti dama iza svakog komada. Ništa nije delovalo prenapadno – samo samouverena ženstvenost. Poseban trenutak za mene bio je kada je moja prijateljica, ukrajinski model Anastasija Degtijarenko, prošetala pistom. Moćno je kada vidiš nekog svog kako sija u svom elementu.
Revija je održana u Théâtre des Champs-Élysées – i sama lokacija je nagoveštavala da će ovo biti posebno. Našla sam se u istoj prostoriji sa Cardi B, Leonie Hanne, Pia Wurtzbach i drugim modnim ikonama.
Rolland je inspiraciju pronašao u Josephine Baker i Brâncușiju, što se osetilo i u glamuru i u geometriji silueta. Haljine su se kretale kao skulpture: oštri rameni, naglašeni okovratnici, svila do poda i til koji lebdi poput sna.
Predstavljena u Ambasadi Indije, samo nekoliko koraka od Ajfelove kule, ova revija delovala je kao dirljiva proslava nasleđa i savremenosti. Svaki komad je ručno tkan od 100% prirodnih, zanatskih materijala koje su izradili indijski tkači u saradnji sa Vaishali S. Prava posveta zanatu i održivosti. Cela kolekcija me je podsetila šta visoka moda zaista jeste: ne samo moda, već i značenje.
Izložba “Balenciaga by Demna”
Između revija, posetila sam izložbu “Balenciaga by Demna”. Prikazano je 101 pažljivo kuriranih komada, uz audio beleške samog Demne, u kojima objašnjava priče i inspiracije iza svakog izgleda.
Nije se činilo kao modni arhiv, već kao da sam kročila u nečija sećanja. Inspirisana identitetom, nostalgijom i poezijom svakodnevice, cela izložba delovala je kao lično pismo Demne – i Balenciagi i svetu. Bilo je posebno znati da je upravo ova sezona bila i poslednja Demnina kao kreativnog direktora modne kuće Balenciaga.
3. Pariz tokom Nedelje visoke mode
Pariz tokom Nedelje visoke mode nije kao Pariz u vreme klasičnih nedelja mode. Sve je tiše, promišljenije, kao da grad zna da ugošćava nešto izuzetno. Tokom sezona prêt-à-porter, grad je brz: gužve, vozači pretrpani obavezama, svi jure. A tokom visoke mode, sve se usporava. Ne zato što se manje dešava – već zato što sve deluje otmenije i uzvišenije.
4. Šta visoka moda znači meni
Postoji nešto u vezi sa visokom modom u Parizu što ne može da se rekreira nigde drugo. To je savršen spoj: detalj, elegancija i namera – isti jezik koji govore i grad i moda. Za mene, visoka moda predstavlja najviši nivo vizije, zanata i mogućnosti. To je prostor u kome kreativnost nema plafon. Gde dizajneri grade čitave svetove – a mi imamo priliku da u njih zakoračimo. Za razliku od ženskih prêt-à-porter nedelja, ovde se i modeli kreću sporije – dajući vam šansu da zaista upijete svaki detalj. Piste postaju muzeji, a odeća – žive skulpture i slike. Imate osećaj da ste unutar umetničkog dela. I upravo zato je to toliko posebno: ova je nedelja kada moda prevazilazi i samu modu.
5. Vidimo se u septembru na Nedelji mode u Parizu
Ova nedelja me je podsetila zašto radim to što radim: ne samo da nosim modu, već da je doživim i podelim s drugima. Ono što ostaje u meni nisu samo prve redove, kamere i modeli – već i činjenica da moda, na najvišem nivou i dalje može da iznenadi, čak i kada pomisliš da si sve već video. Sada sam radoznala da vidim šta Pariz priprema za septembar.
