kimair
frozen
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from wwd:
Chiffon dress and flower-print cashmere cardigan with lace trim
Embroidered silk suit
Wool suit and cotton voile shirt with ribbon embroidery
When Christian Dior goes on a cruise, who's invited?
Practically everyone.
Exemplifying the growing importance of cruise and pre-spring collections, the French house is using the season to unveil a major expansion of its product offerings, designed to broaden its customer base as it continues to build ever-larger stores and pushes into new markets like South America.
In an exclusive interview with WWD, Dior designer John Galliano and chief executive officer Sidney Toledano explained how they're "upping the ante," as Galliano put it, with an arsenal of products to reach more age groups, dressing occasions and fashion tastes.
"We're at that stage now where we're opening much more, which is a great challenge as a designer. We'd like to embrace a much larger audience," an upbeat Galliano said.
Dior's footwear category, which Toledano said has grown tenfold in only three years to "several hundred thousand" pairs a year, also is emblematic of the diversification drive. The cruise and pre-spring offerings span "vintage trainers to killer heels," said Galliano, surveying a roomful of his designs. The designer even found a way to incorporate some of the exclusive prints he develops for rtw into dressy heels and sporty flats. He said it was a request that came directly from Dior's store network, and he was happy to oblige.
Come late October, stores will begin receiving a full blast of Galliano's creative prowess. While couture remains his pinnacle expression for the house, the designer said he approaches his pre-collection no differently.
In fact, Galliano's famous "inspiration" trips to far-flung locales are not the preserve of couture. Influences from his swing last March through Argentina and Peru turn up in the cruise collection in smocking details, striped gaucho pants and loose chiffon tunics inspired by local carpet designs.
"We covered a lot of ground. We would take a plane almost every day," Galliano said, recalling a stop at one village where he encountered "children covered in pink dust" and a woman who proudly showed off her cactus collection. "How can you not be inspired by such things?" he asked. "It's so rich, and it's all here for the house to be energized and be inspired by."
Galliano channeled those ideas into many new areas, vastly expanding Dior's offering of tops, which represent an important access price point for a luxury brand. The designer said his litmus test for versatile separates was "having models come in and wear things with their own jeans."
Galliano said he added more cocktail and evening components to each of his four fashion themes, citing a growing demand for occasion clothes, "which is very positive, don't you think?"
Galliano's high-energy variety show extends to all accessories categories, too, including costume earrings tinkling with a tiny teapot and teacups ("a little touch of Sofia Coppola," the designer noted); a new "Christal" watch model inspired partly by rocker Patti Smith — "Only me and David Bowie have one so far," he quipped — and dramatic, "Alien"-esque sunglasses with concave lenses.
"In the old days, cruise used to be basic," Toledano said. "What's new today is that they have all the creativity and inspiration."
Galliano stressed that Dior collections will always include "that finale dress" for fearless customers like socialite Dodie Rosenkrans, but there also must be something understandable for someone "who really wants the logo."
Chiffon dress and flower-print cashmere cardigan with lace trim
Embroidered silk suit
Wool suit and cotton voile shirt with ribbon embroidery
, but i do like that last blazer... it's alright so far, not a disaster but nothing spectacular (cruise collections usually aren't anyway)... but need to see more
, especially that last outfit, s'lovely, thanks for posting them kimair 
if so, it confirms what i thought people will like this collection..
(he did cleopatra in 97 and then Egypt in 2004 without even mention her)...., i read on vogue Paris something like he was going to do a gothic theme, maybe he will mix up everything or do something completely different, we will have to wait and enjoy!, also i don´t know if you have noticed that usually there´s always a little hint of the silhouette (for example) of his next couture show on his last rtw show for his own, not always, but i have noticed that 
, but dior haute couture drives me crazy and is great to try to found out the inspirations for the shows.
