Christian Dior HC F/W 12.13 Paris

[rui]

The NEW look of Dior for 2013.

Thank you Raf!

 

[Empress of Dress]

Very unexpected

 

[gallianoboy]

Strip it all aside and focus on nothing but the clothes....compare this first Raf Collection for Dior compared to Galliano's first collection for Dior and can you honestly tell me that this is better???? Galliano could do this in his sleep!!!! This collection is pure garbage!

 

[frk-frost]

I like this collection though I do wonder how long he had to make it? I think it's very promising for the future of Dior

 

[Luxx]

I'm surprised at all the negative reactions. I feel like this is very much what I expected Raf to bring to Dior - there is an elegance, a lightness and a timelessness to each piece. It is the most exciting stuff ever? No, but I wasn't expecting the pomp and circumstance that Galliano brought to the house. Maybe it is just me but I think that this quiet and restrained variant of refinement is exactly what Dior needs right now. This is tied to the past, but not slavishly so, there is still a modernity to this - it feels in line with the way many women are dressing now, elegant yet unfussy.

My thoughts are a bit jumbled on the matter, but I quite like this collection - there is a bit too much black and grey but the final gowns are breathtaking and that pink and black number on Julia Nobis, plus the shocking yellow number...perfection in my book. There was no way for Raf to please everyone (especially with expectations being so high) but I think he's built compelling framework, this is simply the foundation on which he can build.

 

[Miss Galliano]

I am sorry, what a waiste waiting for Dior vintage looks, fashion should be fashion forward and haute couture must be a big break to go show creativity as the designer can do and not recycling his past work what he did before.I am very dissappointed I've waited many sleepless nights for nothing.

I loved the tie-dye prints on the dresses but i felt depressed by watching a horror movie this is not haute couture ,it looks excatly like a runway from Balenciaga the hair ,the background eveything, Please put some good designer at Dior asap.

 

[mistress_f]

watching the photos on nowfashion... every designer alive was sitting front row for this. that must've been very relaxing for raf... not.

anyway, i do love some pieces here, but i do agree with the overall feeling that this is too safe, or tame. but then again i do love raf's minimalism, it's just weird to associate it with dior.
i don't hate this at all, the tailoring is exquisite and there are some outstanding pieces (this top http://s19.postimage.org/p255sz8cz/2012_07_02_13_02_54_christian_dior_5018.jpg
or this coat-dress http://s19.postimage.org/jkzzl9d03/2012_07_02_13_10_30_christian_dior_5154.jpg ) but it's too tame for me to go head over heels. i do however have a lot of faith in raf and i think this is a nice first outing, also considering the 'little' time they had to put it together

 

[LolaSvelt]

I am sorry, what a waiste waiting for Dior vintage looks, fashion should be fashion forward and haute couture must be a big break to go show creativity as the designer can do and not recycling his past work what he did before.I am very dissappointed I've waited many sleepless nights for nothing.

I loved the tie-dye prints on the dresses but i felt depressed by watching a horror movie this is not haute couture ,it looks excatly like a runway from Balenciaga the hair ,the background eveything, Please put some good designer at Dior asap.

No offence, but is there some sort of 'rule' that says this?

 

[Marc10]

Raf never had an easy job ahead of him. The expectations surrounding his debut today was enormous. Take the reins of one of the most prestigious houses in Paris, with overwhelming legacy on its own and a memorable designer before him was risky business. And I think these great expectations are partially blinding people to glance what this collect is and represent.

Galliano is gone, this is not his Dior anymore. This is Raf's Dior for now on, and today he gave us the prologue to his book. And that's exactly what this collection represents to me: a trailer, a sample, an introduction of what's to come. Indeed, this has strong elements of his past work at Jil Sander. The impeccable tailoring is here, the great shapes and silhouettes are here as well. His modernity, his vision is definitely here. But yet, Christian Dior's DNA is also here. The femininity, the elegance and the class. These two DNA's have found each other and blended sublimely. This collection is full of dualities, the duality of past and present, of femininity and restraint, romanticism and reality. My favorite part represents that well, those incredible delicate, hand-crafted embellished tops with black tailored trousers, so beautiful. And then he played with bottoms, skirts and dresses with fantastic shapes, which feel at the same super retro and super modern. Yes, this is modern couture. I really love too how he played with everything here: dresses, coats, suits, gowns; shapes, texture, prints, embellishments, fabrics. Everything was here, everything was cohesive, everything was clear.

Like I said, this is just the beginning. He will do bigger, he will do better. He’s just teasing us of what the future will be. And man, the future looks quite stunning.

 

[Selfportraitgrl]

^ #149 - Beautiful review.

 

[mimirose]

It doesn't have to be over-the-top, foolish, and forced to be haute couture; it's about the silhouetting, innovation, and detailing, kudos to Raf for recognizing that. This is utterly elegant and exciting.

Exactly. It's very unproductive to compare Galliano's work to Simons'. They're very different designers with different aesthetics. That's not a bad thing, it's wonderful. We cannot and should not expect Simons' to create identical work to Galliano's.

This collection is lovely. It's an incredibly sophisticated and chic update on classic Dior. The tailoring and cuts are sublime. Some of the gowns and the early trouser suits are also highlights.

This is Raf Simons' very first collection for Dior and isn't his finished product. We mustn't expect too much, too soon. From the looks of things there's a lot to look forward to, though.

Post #149 was really spot on!

 

[Selfportraitgrl]

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)

I think pointing to the archives was just addressing people's complaints that this isn't Dior. Surely, it isn't Galliano's Dior, the Dior they expect/want, but much more like Christian Dior, the Dior they (ironically) may not be familiar with.

 

[Marc10]

Simons Starts Triumphantly at Dior
By CATHY HORYN

The hardest thing to realize in fashion is that the future lies in the past. The second hardest thing is to forget the past.

That precise turn of mind is what Raf Simons showed on Monday as he took control of Dior. And there is no other term for it. He took command of the house, only the fourth designer since Christian Dior founded the company right after World War II.

His debut collection was beautiful, modest in its approach to femininity, and thoroughly engaging from the chic tuxedos and cigarette pants that opened the show to the last outfits: long organza and tulle dresses with their backs embroidered with delicate flowers in one color and the fronts in a more intense, Futurist tone.

In almost every one of the 54 outfits, in almost every detail, Mr. Simons made a connection to the first decade of the house, when Dior himself was at work. He then put those ideas — among them an architectural purity in construction, a preference for pockets, a sense of femininity but also ease — through his own filter.

It’s probably an exaggeration, though not much of one, to say that Mr. Simons swept aside much of the fashion story of the last 15 to 20 years, not least postmodern irony. In any case, he was bold to try — and before an audience that included some of the most respected names in fashion. Among the designers who came to see his debut were Pierre Cardin, Azzedine Alaïa, Marc Jacobs, Alber Elbaz, Donatella Versace, Riccardo Tisci and Diane von Furstenberg. That number is surely a first in fashion. Bernard Arnault, the chairman of LVMH, who is his boss, was seated between his daughter Delphine and Charlene of Monaco. The audience included the actresses Marion Cotillard, Jennifer Lawrence and Sharon Stone.

There was an extraordinary sense of anticipation before the show. “I haven’t been this excited to see a show in a long time,” Emmanuelle Alt, the editor of French Vogue, said. “Today I’m going to see something I’ve never seen before.”

Ms. Versace, seated a few places away, shared her feeling. Ms. Versace, who got to know Mr. Simons when he worked in Milan at Jil Sander, said: “Raf’s so shy. Sometimes I don’t think he realizes how good he is.”

Mr. Simons succeeds John Galliano, who left his own mark on Dior, but was fired in February 2011.

The show on Monday was held in a private house on the Avenue d’Iena. The design of the rooms also reflected Mr. Simons’s ability to draw what he needs from the Dior legacy and invigorate it with his own ideas. Each room was lined, from floor to ceiling, in a solid tapestry of fresh flowers: blue for one salon, white for another, a mixture of yellow roses and pink peonies for still another. Christian Dior loved flowers and cultivated them in his country garden. Mr. Simons loves intense color.

And those colors provided the background for a superbly plain coat in bright red wool, its sides gathered in two or three discreet folds and pockets set slightly back. Dior thought the position of the pockets gave the wearer a more flattering line. Mr. Simons interpreted Dior tweeds, for gray coats and a strapless dress, by updating the pattern with a more geometric feel. The Bar jacket appeared throughout the collection, but the most stunning rendition was in black wool crepe with the base embroidered in thousands of dangling black beads tipped in electric blue. The beads were worked so closely together that the surface resembled fur. A full-skirted gown in white organza evoked Pointillism with tiny frayed ribbons, while another was embroidered all over in pale blue and pink feathers.

At a time when much of high fashion is highly influenced by image, whether iconic photographs from 1950s couture or new manipulated digital images, Mr. Simons’s debut essentially asks people to trust their own eye. His clothes are often so simple that you have to look at them for a while before you see the small gesture or the magisterial way of sleeveless black crepe falls over the body. He gets the most and the best out of couture, and this is just the start.

nytimes

 

[Razzer]

I am really on the fence about this collection. When i first saw this i thought it looked old and boring, not as captivating as when Raf was at Jil Sander. I am a person who appreciates minimalist haute couture ( like Armani's more cleaner collections for couture), so don't you all going shouting down my throat "this is what haute couture is!you don't know anything haute couture)
But then slowly i kept looking at the outfits and noticed how chic the garments are by the cuts and how sophiscated most of the collection is. Also my expectation was not that high, as i fully understand all the pressure Raf is under and how many designers have to take a few seasons to truly establish their own aesthetic for the brand, which i am very much excited for Raf to direct us to.

One thing that i did not like was the make up. I feel it made the girls look very gaunt and did not improve the collection. I did appreciate the minimal use of make-up, but this design did not work in my view.

 

[Miss Galliano]

No offence, but is there some sort of 'rule' that says this?

i hope he will do better, there are too many rules , he was just too neat and safe.. i wanted for him come out from the confortzone >I felt dissappointed waiting I guess I am still for the next big thing at Dior.

 

[jeffandtheworld]

People, this is Dior by Raf Simons NOT Dior by John Galliano.
Dior by Galliano was good, but this is the new direction - Raf's way, Raf's Dior.

I love it. It's very French. It's a pretty collection.

 

[FashionPower]

Can anyone please explain me the difference between this collection and jl sander fw12?
Trust me you would have guessed it was jl sander if they were not showing in july

 

[gossiping]

some of the pieces like the draped sides...too jil sander, not a fan of

but the classic dresses, that is what i love!

 

[elle_gb]

I won't judge it as it was his first collection at new house, it is scream Couture for me. However, I feel we have seen this before (Obvious) and I think he has yet attached with Dior. We'll see when ready to wear comes out.

 

[blackkohl]

I think it's a beautiful collection; very clean, modern and sophisticated... this is what contemporary couture should look like, in my opinion! It is a bit difficult to take it all in at first, I suppose, having witnessed (and become accustomed to) all of the drama that Galliano brought to Dior. However, change happens. Some people don't like change. I, however, love the fact that Raf is changing the game and presenting us with something fresh. It's rather reminiscent of classic Dior HC, due to its lack of flashiness, if you like, which I love! <3 We should also remember that this is Simons' first HC collection EVER, so you've got to applaud him for producing something so divine despite his lack of couture experience. I can't wait to see what he does next! I think he's going to bring good things to Dior.