Christian Dior F/W 12.13 Paris

[Heroin_Chic]

So the house of bore is back to dressing "older women"... *SIGH*

 

[Boomer]

So the house of bore is back to dressing "older women"... *SIGH*

Right- elegant ladies can once again safely shop at Dior, and rich crazies who want to play Pirates of the Caribbean can shop elsewhere...

 

[Oldmanswag]

So I'm reading people's comments and for me I personally think it was a very good collection. Not great but not bad what-so-ever. Loved the black, pale pinks, rose colors, I enjoyed watching it. Another thing is, everyone still has that John Galliano Dior mentality and everyone needs to forget about it.

 

[HeatherAnne]

Which is the same thing that many criticize Ralph Lauren for every time he does a collection- that sells out overnight!!

Comparing Ralph & Dior is like comparing apples and oranges. And I'd like to see them remain complete opposites. Besides, when has Dior ever had to worry about their sales? Even after the Galliano outburst, their revenues went up.

 

[chanelh]

compared with the last HC collection, this is a little disappointed. and it is not bad, but still, it's dior not sth casual, things like these merely pass the pass line

 

[heyworld]

I think this collection is so beautiful. The shape, color, fabric, etc of the clothes is just perfect. The make up and hair also suit the clothes. Great collection, Dior!

 

[Boomer]

^Good Lord, I am not comparing them!! I am saying that criticism of a product (any product- Apple computers, Chevrolets, whatever) for being consistent with their well known and successful style and image is rather pointless when they have been selling their merchandise for many years! What you said is exactly my point!!

 

[lelaid]

actually this isn't that bad. granted its not ground breaking, but you can bet your bottom dollar it will sell.

 

[HeatherAnne]

^Good Lord, I am not comparing them!! I am saying that criticism of a product (any product- Apple computers, Chevrolets, whatever) for being consistent with their well known and successful style and image is rather pointless when they have been selling their merchandise for many years! What you said is exactly my point!!

I thought you were comparing them by pointing out the fact that Ralph is able to sell collections "sans-drama" so Dior should be able to also?
If I misunderstood, I apologize.

My point, is that I don't want to see Dior sans-drama. There are plenty of designers around to do that. This does not feel Dior to me, and that's not just Dior under Galliano, it's Dior under any designer.

 

[Psylocke]

So I'm reading people's comments and for me I personally think it was a very good collection. Not great but not bad what-so-ever. Loved the black, pale pinks, rose colors, I enjoyed watching it. Another thing is, everyone still has that John Galliano Dior mentality and everyone needs to forget about it.

Um, I really disagree with that statement. If you take over a house it's somewhat expected you create something that is in sync with what has been presented in the previous years and that at least measures up to past collections. It's only natural one compares a current collection to the past ones, whether there was a change in designers or not. Some seem to like this better than what Galliano did, others prefer Galliano's Dior, but there's no way anyone will ever forget what Galliano's Dior looked like because whether you liked it or not, it was Dior for a long time, and it was dramatic, theatrical, exciting and good and this, IMO, is none of that.

 

[Boomer]

^ I guess the more 'New Look' any Dior collection is, the more I like it!! (I still flip through my Vogues from the 50s and 60s and miss the elegance of it all, even the ads! Total romance...)
I do wonder why LVMH seems to keep beating the new designer drum- he seems to be doing a fine job the last few months- I don't know what they might be looking for at this point...

 

[pavonine]

Oh I don't know what you lot are complaining about! Geez, people are always complaining when it comes to Dior. When Galliano was around, TFSers denounced his collections as the worst ever, about Galliano needing to take a much needed break yada yada yada, and now that there's a change in aesthetic, we're whining about it as well. Some people will just never be pleased.

That said, I thought it was a perfectly beautiful collection.

 

[jmrmartinho]

its much better than last colection, but tis still so boring, and some of the looks plus hair and make up and plus venue are so cheap

 

[Pradable]

 

[Street_a_Licious]

where to start...

the venue is stunning. it is. it looks glossy, glassy, modern, yet juxtaposes it with the walls from the atelier projected onto the screens which make up the wall.

that's where the cool juxtaposition ends.

there's wide belts on 90% of the looks. what i think about cheese is how Gaytten must feel about belts: everything is better with some on. if possible cinched right in the middle. cause, i don't know, that trend didn't die 4 years ago (it did, just fyi).

the length is rarely optimal. matter of fact, the length is about the same which i always jabber about on the 'Celebs in Runway Looks' thread: it's unflattering. it's too long to make the legs look graceful. instead it highlights the widest part of the calf. this usually happens when celebs wear runway samples, which were shown in women much taller than themselves, so while it might look like a kneegrazing flirty dress on the model, it looks like something matronly on the shorter celeb. seeing how these dresses already look too long on the models, the shorter celebs will be presented with a lot of floor grazing dresses.

that look with the overlong dresses and those strappy shoes with the chunky bottom is straight up stolen from Celine.

that cream colored dress and the black one on Joan might be a good idea when you try to hide a pregnancy. unsuccessfully. who else would want to add chunk on the midsection. everyone! elegant ladies! beer bellies ahoy!

and those final 2 looks on Magdalena and Karlie (ugh) scream Rodarte. not saying that Rodarte were the first to make such dresses but it does seem... reductive.

 

[Tentacl Ventricl]

It's pretty tame for a Dior collection, not much drama, which is rather disappointing. Seeing this collection I think maybe Raf should have gone to Dior, because what he did at Jil this season is very similar to this collection, only he made it way more interesting.

You beat me to that comparison HeatherAnne

There's also another contemporary influence here - Rick Owens!

Although of course both Raf and Rick's recent work does in turn owe a debt back to mid century couture in the play on volumes, the sacque back, the dolman on the 7/8th, etc, etc. That's more of a mining of the 50's couture archive of Balenciaga than of Dior but...Something quite clever here - just in belting the exagerrated curves of that silhouette you do force the language back to Dior and New Look. A simple but very effective move which introduces Dior codes into the dialogue.

I can do without the looks which turn back to a more antiquarian feel - the carpetlike print, the paillettes, the oversized lace prints, the overwrought jewellery. The intricacy dates those looks.

But when turned to close-fronted, sleeklined minimalism including when spliced with leather panels, those looks share with Raf's work this season an ability to convey a sense of grace and deportment but which feels utterly modern.

Below is my roughly drawn (might have missed a look or two) impressionistic edit of the strong points of this collection.

 

[Pradable]

2 words: splendide et majestueux.

 

[Pricciao]

Which is the same thing that many criticize Ralph Lauren for every time he does a collection- that sells out overnight!! You can see this is Dior, and I bet it will be a very big hit in the showroom!

itsmenoelle@photobucket

 

[TheVeed]

I thought it was surprisingly good, not at all what I expected. I do like some of the leather play in this, too.

 

[yesitsdagny]

The clothes are indeed beautiful but I still find this collection to be too boring for Dior. What I used to love about Dior collections and shows was the theatricality and how over the top the clothes were.. it kind of dragged me out of the everyday life and showed that fashion is not only about nice clothes but also the story that surrounds them. Dior is not Dior anymore, it's predictable and yawn-worthy. Yet I cannot say it's a bad collection, it's just okay.