The house of Dior recently unveiled Raf Simons’ latest spring/summer haute couture collection, where hand-picked models wafted among boxwood hedges.
Simons does not seem to grasp this fundamental element of Parisian couture, remaining firmly grounded in Belgian utilitarianism and minimalistic design
Simons’ attempt at re-inventing Monsieur Dior’s defined aesthetic seemed a particularly weak effort when compared to his predecessor John Galliano’s regular explosions of glamour and paillettes.
Unabashed Galliano groupies periodically awaited his couture shows for Christian Dior with fervour and devotion, expecting to be wowed by the fashion world’s enfant terrible’s latest creations.
It was Galliano’s flair for the dramatic that produced intricate, imaginative and show-stopping pieces that breathed life into the musty corridors of Parisian haute couture, effectively reviving a dying world until his untimely dismissal from Dior in 2011.
However, Simons’ collection this year, despite the fact that I genuinely want to like it and that it is selling like hotcakes, is a desperately underwhelming spectacle, lacking the drama and pageantry once displayed by Galliano.
While the dresses are pretty, Simons commits the cardinal sin against fashion, promoting the wearable over women’s dreams. Despite having a formidable team of cutters and seamstresses at his disposal, Simons does not seem to grasp this fundamental element of Parisian couture, remaining firmly grounded in Belgian utilitarianism and minimalistic design.
Flowers have always played a major role at the house of Dior and Dior himself adored them, so it was no coincidence that on reading Dior’s biography over summer, Simons decided to incorporate this particular theme into his designs and use spring, and the renewal it brings, as his inspiration.
Simons brought his concept to life by covering many of his dresses in small flowers of every shade and hue and even sent one of the models down the catwalk in a trouser suit. However, all his blacks, pastels and occasional jolts of neon pale in comparison to John Galliano’s similarly themed 2010 autumn couture collection. While Galliano’s models polarised attention when they boldly strutted down the catwalk dressed in beautiful bursts of pink, purple, orange and yellow, Simons’ merely blended into his garden-inspired set.
Galliano may have been inspired by Dior’s garden but the timid Simons seems to have been inspired by his graveyard.
Ultimately, Simons’ collection is safe, stable and reliable, much like dream husbands but certainly not like dream gowns.
While you might want to take Simons to meet your parents, Galliano remains the cool guy in the leather jacket that your mother warned you against, the memory of whose creations still sends hearts aflutter.