The who’s who of the fashion world came out to toss flowers at the
feet of Christian Dior’s new creative director on Monday, applauding the
fresh and modern approach Raf Simons has brought to the feminine
extravagance of a grand French atelier.
The Belgian couturier greeted oversized expectations for his first Dior collection with a decidedly architectural look that revelled in sumptuous understatement. The house has been without a permanent designer since former star John Galliano fell from grace over a drunken, racist tirade.
Rival designers Alber Elbaz of Lanvin, Louis Vuitton’s Marc Jacobs, Versace’s Donatella Versace and even veteran couturier Pierre Cardin were on hand for the Simons debut in a grand Parisian mansion festooned with flowers.
“Flower women” is how Christian Dior referred to his revolutionary 1940s creations that used an abundance of fabric cinched in tightly at the waist to create his “New Look” silhouette that personified post-war elegance and excess.
That floral idea, deconstructed, found its way into the new autumn/winter 2012-2013 Haute Couture collection, as the designer known for minimalism used dramatic colour and delicate workmanship to revive Dior’s vision.
Models navigated a catwalk that wound through five colour-coded rooms whose walls were covered floor to ceiling with either blue delphiniums, white orchids, red and orange roses or pink roses and peonies - a showstopping stage that would have struck fear into the hearts of anyone with allergies.
On the runway, structured bodices were intricately stitched to resemble petals, with subtle folds of fabric that opened like new buds on flirtatious dresses or curvaceous suits.
“The architecture of flowers is analyzed in a different way for the contemporary world,” wrote Simons in his collection notes, adding that an “intense, new use of colour” was central.
My Favourites:
Love,
Arianna
The Belgian couturier greeted oversized expectations for his first Dior collection with a decidedly architectural look that revelled in sumptuous understatement. The house has been without a permanent designer since former star John Galliano fell from grace over a drunken, racist tirade.
Rival designers Alber Elbaz of Lanvin, Louis Vuitton’s Marc Jacobs, Versace’s Donatella Versace and even veteran couturier Pierre Cardin were on hand for the Simons debut in a grand Parisian mansion festooned with flowers.
“Flower women” is how Christian Dior referred to his revolutionary 1940s creations that used an abundance of fabric cinched in tightly at the waist to create his “New Look” silhouette that personified post-war elegance and excess.
That floral idea, deconstructed, found its way into the new autumn/winter 2012-2013 Haute Couture collection, as the designer known for minimalism used dramatic colour and delicate workmanship to revive Dior’s vision.
Models navigated a catwalk that wound through five colour-coded rooms whose walls were covered floor to ceiling with either blue delphiniums, white orchids, red and orange roses or pink roses and peonies - a showstopping stage that would have struck fear into the hearts of anyone with allergies.
On the runway, structured bodices were intricately stitched to resemble petals, with subtle folds of fabric that opened like new buds on flirtatious dresses or curvaceous suits.
“The architecture of flowers is analyzed in a different way for the contemporary world,” wrote Simons in his collection notes, adding that an “intense, new use of colour” was central.
My Favourites:
Love,
Arianna
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