Raf Simons has finally unveiled his first ever collection for the House of Dior. It must have been really nerve-racking for him with all the excitements and not to mention expectations building up since the day he took over the coveted title at Christian Dior. That’s why when the Fall 2013 Haute Couture collection finally landed at Paris Fashion Week, all the big-wigs of fashion industry were there to show some love and support. It’s almost impossible to see Marc Jacobs, Olivier Theyskens, Riccardo Tisci, Azzedine Alaïa, Alber Elbaz, Kris Van Assche, Donatella Versace and Diane von Furstenberg all at one fashion show waiting and observing patiently as the garments being sent down the runway one by one. Raf Simons made it happen.
In a room full of blooms (millions of flowers on every inch of the walls), Simons showcased a strong collection of more than 50 looks which highlighted the history of Christian Dior through his very own strong point of view. You can’t help but see his penchant for architectural design which he further magnify with the use of peplum, cinched waist, full skirts and razor-sharp jacket shaped after Dior’s iconic Bar jacket.
Simons managed to find the middle ground between Dior’s signature extravagant couture and his own brand of “less is more”. It can be seen clearly from the use of “Dior grey” and the fact that none of the dresses or skirts has over-the-top goddess floor-sweeping train. Embellishments are very minimal, Simons focuses instead on the use of luxurious fabrics and eye-popping prints.
It was overall a very good first collection for Raf Simons under Christian Dior. He beautifully married his personal design philosophy with the French fashion house’s very own retrospective. This is definitely a new era for Christian Dior. We are just looking forward to find out where Simons will take us next on his journey.
Source: style.com
