January 26, 2016 |
A new look – and a new start – for Dior. After Raf Simons’ departure, the Dior team tackled the house’s spring/summer 2016 haute couture collection, headed by Serge Ruffieux and Lucie Meier. The theme was Dior – bien sûr! – but also the idea of couture for today, something that’s sensible to tackle, given that every house wants to bag a new bunch of clients to keep this fashion art-form alive and breathing. Dior did just that. Continuing with their template of futurist-tinged femininity, the mood was, in Dior’s own words, “freestyle”. Dresses seductively slid off shoulders, clasping waists in classic Bar styles, defining an hourglass silhouette. Ruffles, flounces, embroidered of flowers and wrapped and draped skirts helped conjure and construct an elegant contemporary woman, the modern incarnation of Monsieur Dior’s Parisienne. And of course, it was exquisitely realised, beautifully tailored, elaborately beaded and sequinned. An orgy of beauty, inside a mirrored jewellery box. A fitting tribute both to Monsieur Dior, and to the legacy that Raf Simons has left at the house. Now, onto the new! The next Dior couturier will be named any day…
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans
