If you’re ever running late to a Dior show and are not sure where to go, just look for the enormous crowd clogging up Rue de Rivoli and listen for the angry horns of drivers who can’t move for all the high-heel clad fashionistas and twice that number in paparazzi.
While wistful fashion students look on, those lucky enough to have an invite are whisked through the barriers by security guards and enter the melange of celebrities, fashion editors and high profile buyers. The first sight awaiting this select group this season was an entire wing of the Louvre spectacularly covered in a golden mirrored sheet reflecting the warm glow of the Parisian afternoon – adding a bold feeling of luxury to the proceedings. This enormous mirror also created a rather convenient selfie wall – perhaps a nod from Raf Simons to the pervasive influence of social media at today’s shows.
Once inside, guests were escorted to one of four circles, within which the model’s would walk. Due to this special layout layout the guest list this year had to be slashed to a mere 1,200, which lead to there being a third less front row seats than usual – an insult apparently too tough to bear for certain editors who chose to boycott the show entirely rather than face the humiliation of second row.
But for those able to handle this difficult situation more gracefully there was the treat of attending one of the most important shows of all the international fashion weeks and of watching some of the most famous women in the world glide right past you. There were flurries of activity from cameramen and film crew when such stars as Carla Bruni, Marion Cotillard, Glass cover star Li Bing Bing, Natalia Vodianova and Dakota Fanning sauntered past.
Then as the lights dimmed a heavy, modern soundtrack burst out and models began filing in to the circles. Interestingly, for a house with the power to get the biggest models in the world, Simons prefers fresh, sometimes almost unknown faces to the supers seen at other houses. Perhaps because he doesn’t want the models to detract attention from the clothes, or perhaps he eschews the habit of using famous names because his highest priority is a certain aesthetic, or perhaps it’s simply because he can. In any case, his look today was of a natural, organic and self-confident woman.
As bare-faced models walked out in simple, plain white tunics and trouser suits, Simons made a bold statement that luxury needn’t equate to frills and excess. His beautifully cut, but minimal dresses and skirt suits spoke volumes about the power a master pattern-cutter can infuse into the plainest reams of fabric and how a well-fitted suit will do more for any woman than all the jewels in the world. In the press releases on the seats, Simons was quoted as saying, “I wanted the ready-to-wear to feel more modern, more dynamic, more – I wanted it to be made available to a wider audience.”
His collection for SS15 was a resounding assertion that luxury is something truly unique and the devil is in the detail of every fold and in every seam. Even the best high street imitation could not recreate even the simplest crisp cotton smock or delicately printed jumpsuit from this show and do it justice. Once again, but for very different reasons, Dior has created a look that everyone will aspire to achieve but how many will succeed remains to be seen.
by Nicola Kavanagh
Images courtesy Style.com