Dior presented its RTW collection yesterday. Here is the review from Tim Blanks.
I agree with his comment on how Raf's experimentation this season "didn't always work". Some of the combinations seemed a bit odd. There were some beautiful pieces, but they weren't nearly as strong as the looks from Cruise 2015.
Now, onto the bags.
The bags are a bit disappointing in that they really copy the Chanel Boy bag. And the only one that I actually like is the one without the lock on the front. The two different locks that are presented on other models looks forced, almost like they shouldn't go with this bag design. In fact, the circular lock looks terrible against the rest of the bag's rectangular shape. If Dior wants to differentiate this bag from the Boy Chanel, then there shouldn't be a lock on the front AT ALL. Without a lock, the bag looks more minimalist and in line with the Raf Simons Dior aesthetic.
I have posted some pictures below of the bags (all pictures from style.com).
Dior really has a strong enough aesthetic on its own that it doesn't need to make Dior versions of Chanel bags, although they continue to do so. It doesn't matter if Dior's version has a leather interior or better craftsmanship, because at the end of the day. I would prefer the original from Chanel.
In the venue for the Dior show today, one of the most extraordinary feats in recent fashion history took place. In the Louvre's Cour Carrée, the ancient heart of an ancient palace, a mirrored tent was erected, perfectly rendering its environment in such a way that the tent was invisible. It was like the present had ceased to exist. An appropriate cue for the collection that Raf Simons showed, in which the 18th century and the 22nd century knocked boots, bypassing everything in between. The effect was compounded by the futuristic whooshing on the soundtrack and the "Beam me up, Scotty" set. We were in that bedroom at the end of the world in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Here was new life, fashion's Star Child, waiting to be born.
Simons liked what he did in July's Couture so much that he wanted to extend the experiment into ready-to-wear. Finding the future in the far past—it's a challenge that would engage an artist in any arena. But addressing that challenge in everyday clothes produced a new poetry. It didn't always work—the sprigged florals and the chintz were too stuffy—but the white cotton smocks touched with broderie anglaise were like bed shirts in some highwayman's fantasy, a wicked combination of the virginal and the salacious. And the way the clinical white futurism of the first looks was infected with floral jacquard brought was and will be together with subtle precision.
Simons made his point much more boldly when color was involved, from the pale pink of a shapely linen coat (the highwayman came to mind again) to the orange satin linen gilet that closed the show. It referenced an 18th-century court coat, which evoked the historicism of Christian Dior's original Bar silhouette. Fashion present floats on an ocean of fashion past; Simons simply chose to ride the time machine a little further back. But he paired his gilet with Bermuda shorts. It was a look you could imagine piquing the interest of the women he's drawn to Dior. A judicious blend of fantasy and reality—the Apple Watch of fashion.
I agree with his comment on how Raf's experimentation this season "didn't always work". Some of the combinations seemed a bit odd. There were some beautiful pieces, but they weren't nearly as strong as the looks from Cruise 2015.
Now, onto the bags.
The bags are a bit disappointing in that they really copy the Chanel Boy bag. And the only one that I actually like is the one without the lock on the front. The two different locks that are presented on other models looks forced, almost like they shouldn't go with this bag design. In fact, the circular lock looks terrible against the rest of the bag's rectangular shape. If Dior wants to differentiate this bag from the Boy Chanel, then there shouldn't be a lock on the front AT ALL. Without a lock, the bag looks more minimalist and in line with the Raf Simons Dior aesthetic.
I have posted some pictures below of the bags (all pictures from style.com).
Dior really has a strong enough aesthetic on its own that it doesn't need to make Dior versions of Chanel bags, although they continue to do so. It doesn't matter if Dior's version has a leather interior or better craftsmanship, because at the end of the day. I would prefer the original from Chanel.
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