Greta Gerwig Is Wearing Couture the Way God Intended
Can you separate the dress from the couture show? At the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, director Greta Gerwig sparked debate on how — and how not — to wear haute couture off the runway.
This year's competition jury president, Gerwig attended a photocall on Tuesday in a blue and white-striped dress from Maison Margiela's viral Spring 2024 couture show. Styled by Karla Welch, the 'fit garnered mixed reactions on social media — some were disappointed that Gerwig didn't don the same dramatic makeup and accessories featured in the Margiela runway show, while others argued that those bells and whistles are neither practical nor necessary.
"Where's the accessories, the hair, the make-up? Where's the DRAMA?" one netizen questioned. Editor Mikelle Street replied: "You guys consume fashion as entertainment content. And though it can be that, the dress can also just be the dress."
"It's not intended to give runway in every iteration," Street continued. "This is how women wear it every day."
We can all appreciate the artistic vision creative director John Galliano presented on the runway, complete with hair, makeup, and choreography. Ultimately, though, the collection is meant to exist outside the spectacle of Couture Week — it's impractical to expect everyone who wears it to mime the performance Galliano so deftly directed in Paris.
The same goes for Jean Paul Gaultier's Spring 2024 couture collection, guest-designed by Simone Rocha: Gerwig donned a bejeweled gown from the show to a Cannes after party. She didn't copy-paste the hair, makeup, and styling from the runway — instead, she made the look her own, pairing the dazzling dress with nude pumps and a black clutch.
Fashion is supposed to exist in multiple contexts: on the runway and on the street; during the day and at night. If it can't be worn, what's the point?
