ONCE UPON A TIME… should have been the prologue to Dior’s spring/summer collection, for amidst beautiful cascades of flowers in a tent in the garden of le Musée Rodin, we were transported into a fairytale of silks and florals that Monsieur Christian Dior himself was so inspired by during his lifetime. There were sideways pleated silk dresses in modernised floral prints, deconstructed shirts ruched at the waist to create the perfect summer statement, and pleated skirts in such a light fabric, they seemed to be melting onto one’s skin . . .
“I wanted to feel that you wouldn’t know quite where these women were coming from and where they were going to, that they exist in a new place of change and possibility.” —Raf Simons
Embellishments crept over shoulders and necks, as if emulating the blossoms hanging above the runway, and at the end, a parade of models walked through in strapless silver jacquard dresses, all of them wearing badges and crests that Raf Simons applied to many other of Dior’s signature pieces. Ingenious contrasts between the classic and the modern, allowed the designer’s aesthetic to shine through, showing a promising future for a fashion house that epitomises French chic.
—Victoria
