The Silk Dress Was an MVP of Couture Week—23 I'm Shopping for This Very Minute

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(Image credit: Balenciaga)

Over the past week, all eyes were on the dazzling schedule of couture runway shows in Paris. Representing some of the most exquisite and finest designs fashion has to offer, the week was nothing short of glamour, superior craftsmanship, and, of course, some very high-profile celebrity appearances. While Kim Kardashian, Dua Lipa, and Naomi Campbell walking the Balenciaga show was one viral moment, it was the reoccurrence of the silk dress that caught my attention. The material made its way into a number of looks during the show, including Kardashian's lustrous draped maxi dress. But the staple didn't just shine (literally and figuratively) at Balenciaga. It also popped up in Fendi's and Jean Paul Gaultier's couture collections during the week.

Translating couture fashion into real-world styling is often tricky, but the silk dress symbolized at least one practical way it could be interpreted in the everyday. Needless to say, it didn't take long before I started searching for silk dresses, creating a long wish list in the process. I'm convinced this is a trend to watch, so if you're looking to get in on it early, keep scrolling.

The Standout Silk Dresses From Fall/Winter 2022 Couture Week

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(Image credit: Balenciaga)

The construction of this dress is stunning.

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(Image credit: Balenciaga)

As a nod to Cristóbal Balenciaga, this dress draws on the designer's signature silhouette.

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(Image credit: Fendi )

So simple yet so breathtaking.

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(Image credit: Jean Paul Gaultier)

For fall/winter 2022, Olivier Rousteing guest-designed Jean Paul Gaultier's couture collection.

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(Image credit: Alexandre Vauthier)

It's only a matter of time before this look shows up on every red carpet.

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(Image credit: Alexandre Vauthier)

The dramatic draping in contrast to the mini length is so intriguing. 

Shop Silk Dresses

Up next: The Gorgeous Summer Micro-Trend That Will Be Everywhere in No Time

Fashion Market Editor

Indya Brown is a fashion editor, stylist, and writer living in Los Angeles. While going to school at Columbia University in New York City, she got her feet wet in the fashion industry interning at Elle magazine, Harper's Bazaar, and New York magazine's The Cut. After graduating in 2016, she joined The Cut as a fashion assistant, eventually working her way up to fashion editor. There, she worked on a multitude of projects, including styling inbook feature stories for New York magazine's print issue, writing and pitching market stories for The Cut, and serving as fashion lead for The Cut's branded content. While New York has been her home for over 10 years, she moved to Los Angeles in the midst of the pandemic in 2020 for a new chapter. Now she is a fashion market editor for Who What Wear, focusing on emerging designers, rising trends on and off the internet, interior design, and BIPOC creatives and brands. Aside from her duties as a fashion market editor, Brown is also a freelance stylist and writer, working on national print and video commercial campaigns for Sephora, The Independent, and Cadillac. Her bylines also include Harper's Bazaar, Vox, and The New York Times. But once the computer goes down and the emails turn off, she's likely eating her way through Koreatown, hunting down vintage furniture, scoping out new outrageous nail designs to try, or taking a hot cycling class.