When in doubt, don’t rock the boat. Christian Dior is too big a business and too precious a brand to mess around with, so current designers Lucie Meier and Serge Ruffieux—who were Raf Simon’s seconds in command until he left late last year—smartly looked to the archives to extract a fall collection that will keep Dior clients in step until either they find their footing (and are given time to hone it) or the top brass figures out what to do. Which is not to say that Meiere and Ruffieux simply retread old Dior in new materials. They updated, tweaked and modified, and it worked best on the parade of great outerwear.
Where in the past, a Dior collection was often a momentous, emotional affair, this one offered something practical yet still well-made and at times, downright lovely. The double-breasted coats came out with touches of architectural tailoring to turn them into something more than a basic. The collars were moulded and funnelled upwards or the lapels peeled backwards to reveal necks and shoulders.
There was a long line of trim and tailored coats that doubled as mini dresses, showing lots of leg and two-tone, pointy-toed boots. Girls walked loaded with earrings and ear cuffs and rings, or with rounded sunglasses. Signature house bags in croc and python were doubled up, reminders that this business is not necessarily driven by the clothes.
The colour palette was dark or cream except for pops of citrus-y green, orange and colourful silk printed separates. Interspersed were those typically Parisian archetypes—the hint of leopard and a strong lip colour. Throughout, the design duo reworked Dior’s iconic Bar jacket, part of the late 1940s New Look (and which Harper’s Bazaar dedicated pages to back in the day, detailing even Dior’s sketches of this revolutionary silhouette). The gently sloped shoulder, cinched waist and exaggerated hip could be spotted in some variation here, in nearly every coat and jacket.
The show notes explained this is “the Dior woman’s new reality, one that is free and dynamic, current and intuitive…Eccentric, whimsical, adorned. She is seductive. Assertive. Fun-loving.” Which seemed a little at odds with the severe expressions of the models and the overall tailored feel of the collection. Or maybe it’s more the mindset of the Dior team right now. They’re free from the weight of a big name designer, thus free to reinvent Dior from scratch.
From: Harper’s BAZAAR US