By pairing global recognition and potent brand signatures with an ultra-exclusive store network, the mythic couture house owned by Tod’s chairman Diego Della Valle is finding willing clients for its ready-to-wear expansion.

On Monday at 10 a.m., a swarm of extremely well-heeled clients — dressed in Schiaparelli looks, holding Schiaparelli bags and wearing bright gold Schiaparelli jewellery, often the same pieces, from the same collections — proceeded en masse into the Petit Palais in Paris.

Couture Week was a polarised affair, opposing restraint and excess, technique and showmanship, real clothes and wild storytelling, with little in between, writes Angelo Flaccavento.

The brand’s hyperrealistic (but fake) animal heads sparked outrage this week, highlighting the increasingly delicate balance brands must strike between provocative marketing and shifting consumer values.

Tradition coursed through the veins of Paris couture week with few outliers, reports Angelo Flaccavento.

The first days of the Paris couture shows offered subliminal reflections of other times and places when things were just as bad as they are now, writes Tim Blanks.

We expect extraordinary craft from Valentino, Schiaparelli and Sacai. The real challenge is making an emotional connection.

Haute couture, once the realm of unbridled dreams, is getting back to making clothes, reports Angelo Flaccavento.