Experimentation and innovation were the name of the game on the last day of Paris Haute Couture Week. Emerging couturiers took centre stage on Thursday, like Peet Dullaert, 35, from the Netherlands, and Miss Sohee, 28, from Korea. The latter staged her maiden couture week show, as a guest on the event’s official calendar. Dullaert and Miss Sohee unveiled Spring/Summer 2025 collections characterised by contrasting styles.

Dullaert, a Paris-based Dutch designer, showed for the first time at Paris Haute Couture Week exactly a year ago. In his third Parisian show, he juxtaposed glamourous looks with more everyday ones, like the suits and trousers sets or the black tweed maxi coat, worn back-to-front with the cuffs, pockets and buttons at the rear, which could morph into an evening dress if needed.

Dullaert’s couture looks were made from bodysuits and playsuits in tight stretch fabric, on which he added long, sheer flared skirts decorated with geometric patterns embroidered with gems, or made with swathes of silk draped directly on the body, giving the models real freedom of movement. The feeling of freedom was heightened by the use of a wrinkled high-performance fabric developed by the label.

Other looks were covered with thin tassels lined with sequins, or with crystals, with draped white and black tulle, taffeta and other glimmering silks. Dullaert’s looks were characterised by flowing volumes and silhouettes, but he didn’t shy away from intervening decisively in the garments’ construction, for example baring a shoulder or cutting his dresses with long slits along the legs.

The couture show by Miss Sohee, real name Sohee Park, was eagerly awaited. The London-based Korean designer showed twice before in Paris, and was a hit on the Milanese runways in February 2022, backed by Dolce & Gabbana. She pulled out all the stops in Paris, immersing her guests in a magical universe where eras and bold silhouettes mixed spectacularly, showcased inside the gilded halls and under the majestic chandeliers of the Pozzo di Borgo palace.
 

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Miss Sohee’s ladies seemed to be ready for a grand ball with their shimmering, vibrantly coloured crinoline dresses, satin sheath dresses glittering with pearls, and statement coats whose long trains were ornamented with embroidered bucolic scenes, like a golden peacock or floral branches, rich in crystals and sequins. Looks worthy of the Venice Carnival.
 
Botticelli’s Venus seemed to have inspired Miss Sohee, scallops and seashells being among the key elements in her collection. A large shell rose like a fan at the back of a corset which extended into a long, faded-pink silk skirt. Elsewhere, shells encased the hips in two short bustier dresses in python and crocodile-effect leather, or added length to a bustier entirely decorated with gems that was sewn onto a tulle top dotted with mother-of-pearl drops.
 
Shells embroidered in small patterns featured on a silk duchesse dress, and more shells in silver pleated fabric turned into a micro hooded jacket over a Fantômas-style black velvet jumpsuit, with a double row of white pearls draped around the waist.
 
Nothing seemed too precious and extravagant for Miss Sohee’s ladies, who also wore more contemporary outfits consisting of lace jumpsuits, miniskirts and laced thigh-high boots. Park founded her label in 2020, after studying at Central Saint Martins in London, and her customers include scores of celebrities, among them names like Cardi B. and Bella Hadid.