Christian Dior HC F/W 12.13 Paris

[MagFan]

daylife.com

 

[Deleted member 7575]

While I greatly appreciate Simons' emphasis on strong, wearable, modern tailoring, which is very much in the tradition of Dior (his tailoring and suiting was just as well known as his dresses) and which he did beautifully, I found the rest of the collection lacking the same sense of resolution, it felt more like undeveloped sketches.

The dresses swayed between rather obvious Dior-isms, the kind anyone with a rudimentary understanding of fashion history could muster, and some questionable though at times novel couture experiments: playing with shape, color, line, etc. but more often than not it came off as awkward instead of elegant, more garish than glamourous. I don't mind that there were several disjointed theses on modern couture dressmaking being presented, what I mind is that none of them were compelling. Not much had been done here that other designers hadn't already investigated whether it's Nicholas Ghesquire or Miuccia Prada, or even Raf's own couture triology at Jil Sander. This just did not add anything new to the discussion.

And as far as Dior's own discussion goes; the constant dialogue that exists between its current incarnation and it's past legacy, I find, in this instance, it to be as flat as a Gayttens, perhaps worse in that Gaytten at least kept things at an equilibrium, this may have thrown it over the edge.

An interesting collection due to its circumstances, and not without a good idea here and there, but if Raf Simon's hype was not attached I doubt so many of you would be so enamoured.

 

[vandekamp]

#120 Absolutely, same here. The shades and some shapes, but not so much the details and embellishment. As I get a better look though, I'm seeing some new "old" looks. It's nice.

I just noticed the pink dress in #109 has the sheer material around her arms and chest. I love that..

 

[Zhanna]

More Jil Sander than Dior, but I had to say that I love these. Simplicity and perfection in their lines, very refined. I think he has innovated timidly in tye-dye prints. Blend classicism with modernity.

 

[Mrs.T]

Hmm, didn't like it at first but now watching the HQs I like it

 

[Pradable]

nowfashion

 

[Pradable]

nowfashion

 

[dodencebt]

I'm not going to get into the whole Jil Sander look-a-like/this doesn't look like couture argument even though I do have opinions on that as well, but instead I will comment the collection that I am looking at.
I honestly find this quite uninspiring, lackluster and boring. To me most of the clothes are too plain (I've seen very plain but interesting clothes, this is boring plain) and honestly, ugly. Some of those peplum tops and the printed pieces are just not my idea of elegance at Dior. Other than that it's a fine collection, but I definitely expected more.
And I also expected way more from the whole presentation and cast, the tiles on the floor are just killing me. I am one of those people who want to see another dimension when they walk inside the runway room.

 

[Shelton123]

This is so beautiful, elegant, and surprisingly quiet, yet not shy. I don't love all of the colors, but the shapes and fabrics are wonderful, and the tailoring is exquisite. I am not a fan of those silver shoes at all, I don't think they fit well with any of the outfits. Solid collection, and I think we should wait to see where Raf takes Dior for a couple years before we make a judgement about whether he's right for the job. But purely based on this, I'd say yes. I enjoyed this far more than the last couple Dior HC shows.

 

[Zazie]

Zazie, you just nailed it.

Thank you.

In a way it is disappointing as he did as most of us expected, bringing a Raf Simons for Dior approach, no surprise there. No doubt Dior made a decision to start from a clean slate, wipe off traces of Galliano and go "classier" when they decided to hire RS. Otherwise, Decarnin would have been a more appropriate choice for replacement. While he may win over a niche of new fans, eg. Carla Bruni, Kate Middleton and other more public figures, it might not sell bags and perfumes to the "middle" like Galliano did. So quite unsure how it will work out...

 

[eugenius]

I'm failing to understand the "This is sooooo Jil" sentiment around here. If anything, Raf's last collections for Jil were "sooooo golden-era couture", which had absolutely nothing to do with Jil Sander's work in the first place.

And let's face it: the way he worked the fabric around the breast in a few pieces is really quite laughable. Tune in Tokyo?

 

[sore]

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.

 

[Creative]

This is really old-fashioned and not fresh at all.

 

[Thefrenchy]

The irony of people stoning Bill Gaytten every season and praising this...

This is no better than what Gaytten offered. Actually, I don't find it even that different. It's very commercial and not particularly interesting, creative or avant-garde. Not to mention that there are so genuinely hideous things (looks #7, 5, 23, 26, 33, 45, 50).

I can't say I'm disappointed because I was not expecting anything in particular.

 

[ForChicSake]

some very clean, classic and chic looks here, overall a nice collection. looking forward to seeing everything and the details in HQ.

 

[Mota3089]

Your Comparisons don't make any sense. This is inspiration in the craftsmanship, not the volume.

Are you kidding me ?! Same shapes, same colors palette, same spirit. Sorry but Dior now, is like Chanel before Karl, making a lot money, but stopped inspiring people. R.I.P.
***PLEASE DON'T QUOTE IMAGES***
style.com and caps by christian zh

 

[Fatalefashion]

Christian Dior | Haute Couture Fall Winter 2012/13 | Full Show (Exclusive/You Tube)

 

[fer19dog]

Its going to take me some time to get used to this but this is so not Dior from the clothes to the blank cast. Im used to a more Grand Dior in every sense of the word!!

 

[TREVOFASHIONISTO]

what is everyone moaning and b****ing about?
Raf is bringing a modern tak on what Dior's original heritage. It's what the house became known for and he is capitalizing on that. This is couture, just as Galliano's collections were. Raf was never a showy person, but let his collection speak with the construction, and the construction is perfect

 

[Ghost]

I dont care how people say about haute couture being about "cuts and shapes or whatsoever" and not "about theatrics"
I love minimalism A LOT but this is just plain bull**** for Dior