Dior designer Raf Simons ditches haute couture elegance for multicultural collection aimed at international audience
A year into his reign at Christian Dior, Raf Simons' mission to shake up the fashion world is still gathering speed. His feet may be firmly under the desk, but rather than relaxing into a comfortable position in the Paris establishment, the Belgian designer is looking at this rarified world with the fresh eyes of an outsider.
His haute couture collection was not Simons' most beautiful Dior show. This time last year, he had romanced and seduced us – the venue carpeted with flowers, the dresses chiming with our drilled-in belief in the primacy of Parisian chic.
This time around, the mood was more challenging. The collection was divided into four geographical realms: Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa. Each had its own mini-collection, each of which had been shot by a celebrity photographer, so advertising-campaign-style images were projected on to the walls, which formed the backdrop to the square catwalk.
"I began by looking at women from different continents and cultures who wear couture, their personal style", Simons explained, and "the collection evolved to be about Dior not just being about Paris and France, but about the rest of the world and how many fashion cultures impact on the house and on myself."
The sense of calm, clear, thought-out strategy, which was such an appealing part of Simons' first shows for Dior, was absent. Moving screens presented the interpretations of Patrick Demarchelier, Willy Vanderperre, Paolo Roversi and Terry Richardson while the models walked, with the result that five large fashion egos, including that of Simons, were competing for oxygen throughout the show.
The air of elegance, which the couture world holds so dear, was notable by its absence: it was as if the Glastonbury spirit of anything goes had seeped into this week's couture fashion shows. The clear blue water which Simons had put between himself and the sometimes glorious chaos of the Galliano years was muddied, just a little.
The first message of the collection seemed to be that the couture customer base is not just global but strongly skewed toward new markets in Asia, the Middle East and South America. That is news to precisely no one who has glanced at a front row photograph in the past five years, of course.
Simons, who has been criticised for using overwhelmingly white models in previous shows, made good with a line-up representative of women from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. The choice of photographers seemed a little gauche, however. Was Richardson really the best person to represent an African point of view?
By presenting a couture show that didn't feel like one, Simons made another point: that the hoity-toity attitude that surrounds haute couture is irrelevant, when these events are as much about brand-building to a global audience as they are about selling clothes.
It makes little difference to the average potential purchaser of a Dior lipstick or sunglasses whether a dress is haute couture (£100,000) or ready to wear (£3,000) – they are both equally out of reach, but both contribute to the brand image.
Strip away the conceits and complications, and the clothes were consistent with the modern Dior look for which Simons is laying down foundations each season. A strapless neckline, cut straight across, continues to be key on the catwalk. This will influence the red carpet and eventually impact on high-street party dresses.
And with a celebrity audience that included everyone from Oscar-winning actor Jennifer Lawrence to K-Pop star Psy, this was a show whose sights were set way beyond the salons of Paris.