“Raf Simons was photographed by Willy Vanderperre for one of i-D’s eight covers for its Summer 2012 issue. The headline reads: “It’s Show Time! Starring Raf Simons” and the cover image seems to be both a nod to the end of his tenure at Jil Sander, and the beginning of his career at Christian Dior. Simons is swathed in black and white flowers that of course cover one of his eyes in execution of the customary i-D wink. His last collection for Jil Sander was so delicate, romantic, and beautiful, with pillars of flowers on the runway, and the cover seems to signify that all that is over and done with. Simons is moving on, and so should we.”
Christian Dior F/W 12.13 Paris via Vogue.
“Houndstooth opened the show reworked as embroidery on a burgundy coat to give a nod to this masculinity, while the balletic influences were signalled by the long thick ponytails that ran the length of backs, the little knitted caps and the shoes that cleverly combined the block of a point shoe into a thick sole and heel of a platform, complete with thick ribbon ties and the traditional little bow at the toe.
Draped leather, meanwhile, inserted itself into the backs of belted jackets - here was a tougher edge to the Dior woman’s wardrobe. Throughout, Gaytten juxtaposed this hard and soft - with lots of little jackets that took on a new curved silhouette or “rounded femininity” as the show notes said. This term, however, could perhaps also be applied to the new Dior direction - it’s more pared down under Gaytten’s guidance and is very wearable, it is now a more rounded offering.
Wraparound knits looked poised for warm-ups before dance class, as did simple black long-sleeved tops worn with jewels sparkling from around their necks and a new midi length of tutu skirt, which worked its way into almost every look.
For eveningwear Gaytten’s gal looked to old school Dior, back in the days when the man himself was head, and took to the catwalk in reworked structured gowns with sheer skirts that wafted and floated, again maintaining that signature waisted Dior silhouette - one in teal, another in pink and another on the gorgeous Karlie Kloss who closed the show in burgundy.”
“Gaytten was taking no chances getting his message across this time: he had the Christian Dior quote he used at the top of the show notes hand-embroidered in organza on to the skirts of several dresses.
‘Elegance must be the right combination of distinction, naturalness, care and simplicity,’ it read.
This collection was “an X-ray of Dior”, Gaytten said after the show. That meant two things. The wasp-waisted, full-skirted silhouette was a clear reference to the Dior heyday of the early 1950s, while the extraordinary construction of the clothes was celebrated with transparent fabrics which showed off the layers and underpinnings that form the base of those shapes.”
(via theguardian, nowfashion)
