Catwalk Focus = Dior Haute Couture Fall 2013

Couture Fashion Week is always a welcome break from the relatively drab mid season summer break. Fashion's final hurrah before the stressful September collections, Couture represents a step back to the intrinsic nature of fashion itself. RTW tends to dictate the following few seasons for both other designers and the rest of us on the high street, so in Couture the designers have much freer reign, relatively unconstrained by advertisers and commercial worries. As a result, these collections seem to go back to the soul of the house and tend to explore more radical shapes which won't be focused on the hard sell but instead on creativity.

Raf Simons third couture outing as creative director of Christian Dior was one of my personal favourites. The past two seasons have seen Simons cement himself as Dior man through and through, demonstrating to show his mastery of classic Dior styles and intrinsic knowledge of the house's archives. This collection sees him move slightly away from traditional Dior styles. Yes the silhouettes and aesthetics are still fundamentally Dior, but the look is very much modernity personified, something Simons excels in.

Here is just a small cross section of the 53 styles:

 

 

As you can see, it is a collection of variety and experimentation. You can see the heavy influence of mid twentieth century styles - the cinched in waists, heavy silks and demure strapless styles. But this season, Raf wanted to experiment with the idea of 'Global Fashion Culture'. This is evident in the delicate textural shibori fabrics, transforming a relatively simple silhouttes into beautifully intricate dresses. The jewel like colours and mixture of aztec prints help cement this feeling of Paris meets Africana. My personal favourite is the ombre grey to blue to orange glass fringe dress. A piece that really shouldn't work, yet Simons grasp of both the new modernity and the very niche Dior Couture customer makes this piece (and the rest of the collection) work all too well. This is the new Dior, styles that hark back to the golden age yet embrace the future whole heartedly.

The other interesting aspect of this show was the multi media aspect - viewers were confronted with huge screens with images collated from the greats of fashion photography of the models in their looks pre-show (think Patrick Demarchelier & Terry Richardson). The increasingly multimedia nature of fashion is shaping the landscape of fashion itself, and I for one, perhaps because I work in Social Media, am super excited to see the result.

So, to sum up this fabulous concoction of cultures and aesthetics - think chic africana, subtle shapes, impeccable craftsmanship, unusual colour combos and texture clashes. Elegant and creative couture at its finest.

http://www.elleuk.com/catwalk/designer-a-z/christian-dior/couture-aw-2013

http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/autumn-winter-2013/couture/christian-dior

The Gorgeous Golden Age of Couture ♥

My university course has been taking over my life over the past few weeks, but I don't mind too much since my presentation last week was on 'London and Paris Couture, 1947 to 1957. As you can imagine its not that gruelling a topic! Here is selection of the most stunning images I found during my research (They are way too amazing to keep to myself!)

= This is the book I used for my research, not only is it the most informative source I found on the subject, but it has so many pretty pictures. It totally brings out the magpie in me. (Wilcox, Claire. The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947-57. London, V&A publishing, 2008.) Our friends over at A White Carousel had so many pretty images I just had to give them a mention!(http://awhitecarousel.com/)


The gorgeous gowns ♥

= Everybody loves abit of Dior ('Ecarlate' dress, Christian Dior. 1955, La Ligne Y collection.)

= ('Soiree de Decembre', Christian Dior. Autumn/Winter 1955, Y line collection.)

= The Iconic New Look that started it all (Bar Suit, Christain Dior. 1947, Ligne Corolle et en Huit Collection.)

= (Pierre Balmain, C.1950)

= (Jean Desses, 1953)

= ('Les Muguets'- Lily of the Valley. Hubert De Givenchy, 1955)

= (Dior 'Zemire Dress', 1954)

= JUST STUNNING (Organza emroidered with feathers and rhinestones, Pierre Balmain, c. 1955)

= And up close!

= (Cristobel Balenciaga, Autumn/Winter 1934)

= (Pierre Balmain, Spring/Summer 1957)

= The Queen has style! (Worn by Queen Elizabeth 2nd, on state visit to Paris. Norman Hartnell, 1957.)

= Oh and don't forget the shoes! (Roger Vivier for Christian Dior, 1958 and 1954 respectively)
Almost all of these images are from the Victoria and Albert Museum Archives.


Some period image inspiration ♥

= The ultimate in couture glam (image from Vogue, June 1948, photographed by Cecil Beaton)

= Janine Klein wearing Diors New look (Zig-Zag collection, Christian Dior. Autumn/ Winter 1950-51. British Vogue, 1948. Photographed by Clifford Coffin.)

= (Zig-Zag collection, Christian Dior. Autumn/ Winter 1950-51. British Vogue, 1948. Photographed by Clifford Coffin.)

= Opulence personified (Mary Jane Russel modelling Dior's 'Fish Scale' evening gown. American Harpers Bazaar, 1951.)

= (Dior evening gown, 1950)

= ('Zemire' dress in British Vogue, 1954. Christian Dior.)

= The main man himself checking out his designs (Christian Dior circa 1954)

= (1948, Coats by Molyneux and Hardy Amies)

= I don't know the sources for the above images (cheers Google) but I just had to include them!

= Audrey Hepburn you absolute doll ♥ (Hepburn wears Givenchy couture in the film 'Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1961)

= Again in one of her bff Hubert de Givenchy's designs (Givenchy Wedding Gown in the film 'Sabrina', 1954)

= The custom of Royalty was incredibley important to couturiers (Maid of honour Dress worn for Princess Elizabeth's wedding by Princess Margaret. Designed by Norman Hartnell in 1947.)

= (Princess Margaret in a Norman Hartnell gown, photographed by Cecil Beaton.)

= (Circa 1955)

= Dior Haute Salon, 1957.

Legacy ♥

= Galliano created this collection using the brand through the ages as inspiration. This resulted in the New Look, translated for a modern audience.(Dior, Couture Fall 2007. Designed by John Galliano.)

= Simply Brilliant. (Alexander Mcqueen, Spring/Summer RTW 2011. Designed by Sarah Burton.)