Christian Dior HC F/W 12.13 Paris

[widowsofculloden]

lol @ Suzy Menkes talking about the flowers for 2/3rds of a review about Raf's debut show at Dior...

I don't hate it, it feels a lot more modern than what Gaytten ever did for Dior so I definitely PREFER it but it's just completely and utterly boring. Nothing exciting. I don't want over-the-top frills and theatricality, I'm aware that haute couture isn't about that.. but I definitely want to be inspired and seeing something new..

i find it hilarious how lmost everybody who likes the collection hints at the archives and teaches us how very vintage dior this is. of course it is, and of course the morphing of dior's and jil's/raf's aesthetics is witty and on point, and of course raf's work is never easy to get and most of the time i need a LOT of time to digest his collections until they start growing on me, but still, there are collections by raf that just moved me: his last jil sander womens collection for example, the fw 98 or ss 05 collection for his own label and also a lot of his mid-era jil sander mens stuff.

this collection may be crafty, it may have a modern take on whatever, and it sure is extremly sophisticated and closer to the 'real' dior than galliano ever was (although i don't understand why everybody still runs after the 'realness' of a label, after decades of postmodern eclecticism). but this collection didn't make my eyes sparkle and it didn't make my mind blow. i don't need no archive to know this.

You sum up my thoughts better than I can

This is just like the hating for Sarah at McQueen. Everyone says "this is not like the McQueen/Dior"... but no one really knows what McQueen or Dior were all about. Their history.
Dior is not Galliano. Dior is Dior.

I'm sorry but that is a totally different situation.............

 

[lady stardust]

Elegant, strict, minimalistic and very Dior..
I love this.

 

[shutterbug]

I can't agree with the people who say this is too Jil Sander and not Dior enough. There are definitely some pieces that look nearly identical to the archive. This was definitely a nod to Dior's origins and I'm curious to see how it will evolve as he injects more of his vision into the house. That aside, I love this collection so much. Everything looks so well constructed, the shapes are beautiful, the fabrics look rich, and somehow he captured everything I'd want to wear right now.

 

[silk skin paws]

It's a bit muted, but I'm interested in where it will lead and to see this new perception develop overtime.

 

[wednesdays child]

Classy debut , some gorgeous sensual peices, totally covetable, love this direction for Dior... Want/ need to see more close ups

 

[wednesdays child]

I can't agree with the people who say this is too Jil Sander and not Dior enough. There are definitely some pieces that look nearly identical to the archive. This was definitely a nod to Dior's origins and I'm curious to see how it will evolve as he injects more of his vision into the house. That aside, I love this collection so much. Everything looks so well constructed, the shapes are beautiful, the fabrics look rich, and somehow he captured everything I'd want to wear right now.

Actually This!

 

[christian zh]

No details?

 

[Selfportraitgrl]

I'll post them shortly.

 

[JuiceMajor]

Suzy's review is possible the most accurate how you would describe this collection!

 

[Selfportraitgrl]

stylebistro

 

[Morphe]

I believe it has been established so far that 1] 50% of the folks here don't know much about Jil Sander and her brand philosophy and 2] the argument "what is couture" is still argued to death in every single HC thread and at this point, it's kind of redundant.

It is obvious that Simons is following a similar path as when he first started designing for Jil Sander. His first JS presentation was very much "Jil", very close to her own minimal aesthetic and as time progressed, he was injecting more and more of his personal ideals into the house up until his last collection for the brand, which everyone seems to remember so fondly. That last collection though was not so much Jil, it was all Raf so people commenting on the "Jil Sander-ness" of the clothes, well, it's too simplistic of an argument to me.

This collection is certainly not a flamboyant one but knowing Raf's subversive and obscure line of work, I wasn't expecting kitschy theatrics anyway. What we witnessed here is a very smooth transition. I do have high expectations for the future but waiting for him to "revive" the brand with just one showing, within only 3 months, would be silly imo.

PS. Gaytten, from a technical point of view, is a skiller designer but if I were to describe his contribution to the brand so far, I'd say he was mostly paying tribute to Galliano, not Dior.


PS2. Not too fond of the weird heels but those silhouettes are doing things to me.

 

[Selfportraitgrl]

...cont



stylebistro

 

[Meg]

Wish I'd have the time to read the whole thread and read more criticism because I jumped straight to the HQs + details of the collection and anything that's in my head right now is adulation. I feel like someone has finally packed up all the notions of haute couture and brought them to present time, the tailored suits combined with all saccharine elements has not been paired with such precision and.. beauty since.. ever. I cannot remember a single designer that ventured into this 'princess gown' territory and didn't overdo it or reduced a woman to a window display on legs, or a designer that did fantastic suits from beginning to end (Yohji Yamamoto 2003) leaving little room for elements that are almost scary for all the clichés that surrounds them. Even the furry dresses here are so perfectly made that it's hard to think of a woman wearing them and getting overpowered by them and/or not looking incredible.

This seems like a follow-up to what Christian Dior was doing back in the day.. I think he'd be pleased, cause all the experiments are still happening in details, discreetly just like his work, and they're very likely evolve in the coming seasons.

I could not agree more with this. I just opened onto the pictures and it was....perfection. The tailoring, the detail, the precision but with some foresight. Things don't have to be an elaborate embroidered taffeta explosion to be amazing, and I just feel like Raf captured the true spirit of the house with the collection. It's so sharp - I can't wait to see what he does with RTW.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

Just as ugly up close...

 

[Creative]

Not too fond of the weird heels but those silhouettes are doing things to me.

Those weird heels are a reinterpretation of a pair Vivier did for Dior in 1952.

Fashion is becoming more and more unprofessional... People praise everything. It's truly disheartening.

 

[JuiceMajor]

Is unsettling to see the attendees looking bored!

 

[livcsc]

Wow... This doesn't seem couture at all! Nor even Dior! I'm kinda disappointed, I had high hopes for Raf!

 

[pinkpooding]

I feel silly, getting excited over nothing, I knew Raf Simons was not John Galliano but this? There are nice pieces that I would have fallen in love with had I seen it in, oh idon't know, a resort collection or in boutique but for Haute Couture? I would have thought Raf Simons will continue the tradition of fantasy and dream that is dior couture

 

[mimirose]

Seeing the HQs.. woah, there is a mind-blowing amount of work gone into some of these pieces, and you can really appreciate them in these pictures.. such absolutely undistated beauty.
These silk velvet circles that split into halves either side of a box pleat in chiffon..
This incredible interally-structured dress in mink and Persian lamb..
What looks like layers of fabric laser-cut into grids and layered upon each other to create another fabric, in several of the pieces like this.
And god only knows how this is embellished, but to me it looks as if chiffon petals engulf the dress.

Absolutely! I disagree with the post that states the collection is 'just as ugly close up.' In fact, the close up shots demonstrate how beautifully detailed each piece is. The fabrics are incredible and so much work has gone into the embroidery.

To me personally, the quality of the materials is a huge part of Haute Couture. The same amount of craftsmanship and detail has gone into these fabrics as is necessary for a Couture collection. The difference is that they fabrics have been used to incorporate both classic Dior silhouettes and Simons' more modern aesthetic.

Of course, this isn't the perfect collection - far from it. As Menkes said, it's a pleasant taster for what's to come. The comments in this thread have been very interesting to read.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

I feel silly, getting excited over nothing, I knew Raf Simons was not John Galliano but this? There are nice pieces that I would have fallen in love with had I seen it in, oh idon't know, a resort collection or in boutique but for Haute Couture? I would have thought Raf Simons will continue the tradition of fantasy and dream that is dior couture

The issue shouldn't be that he didn't continue the big spectacles of the past and opted for more "wearable" clothes. The issue is that he didn't do it an relevant way. I was anticipating Raf designing into a proper wardobe, banishing the stage costumes Galliano had been making, and trying to make couture a relevant and vital thing. But he didn't manage it well, it's not convincing.