DIORcouture

The pieces created for the couture shows, happening now in Paris, will not be for sale at Dior, Chanel, or Givenchy boutiques. They're certainly not meant to be pieces hanging in anyone's closet. They don't need to be accessible or consumer-friendly, and they're not meant to drive any business.

Couture is, for me, the point where art and fashion really converge. Don't get me wrong, the ready-to-wear fashion weeks are generally my two favorite weeks of the year -- I sit around on my computer all day long smiling at style.com slideshows and loving every minute. But couture is different.

Lately, ready-to-wear has become a party where everyone's invited. If you have a few thousand dollars and a few high-profile friends, you can have your own show, no talent required (coughcoughCHARLOTTERONSONcough). With couture, you can't be messing around.

Seriously. An Olsen can be a fashion designer these days and make a $100 "perfect t-shirt," but not just anyone can do this:Honestly.

John Galliano went all out for Dior's 60th anniversary, as one would expect. I actually thought the collection was a little all over the place -- sometimes it was Marie Antoinette in the 18th century, sometimes it was early 1900s My Fair Lady, sometimes it was classic Dior New Look from 1947- the beginning. But though it may not have been totally cohesive, you can't argue with the craftsmanship (and showmanship -- Gisele, Helena Christensen, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Amber Valletta all walked in the the show).

This one reminds me of the oragami-esque work he did last year- those sleeves are unbelievable.

A lot of the collection was inspired by art, whether literally, like this dress and others that look like they have paint splashes and swirls, or whether they alluded to portraiture, like this:

And really, fashion notwithstanding, you have to love a man who comes out at the end of his show looking like this: