Raf Simon's first Dior Couture Show

[Babydoll]

Raf Simon's first Dior Couture Show!!! (aka Christian Dior Autumn/Winter 2012-2013)
Ok, what did you think about it?
You can see here:
http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/autumn-winter-2012/couture/christian-dior/full-length-photos
Personally, I was expecting to be disappointed, but I actually liked it. I don't know why it feels that Raf has brought original Dior back. Like, Galliano's was very beautiful, but it seemed a bit too avant-garde for Dior. Original since 1946 Dior was more simple, more feminine and delicate... I felt that Galliano went a bit too far.
So anyway, I actually liked this. The sillhoutes are something I believe the original Christian Dior would have done in the 50's (his famous "New Look"). Puffy, but never too fussy, always elegant, always feminine and always polished. But not exaggeratingly over-the-top.
Look:

And this was Dior's New Look in the 1950's:

 

[Esurient]

I love this one!! So chic and classy

 

[SatelliteEyes]

As much as I loved it, the whole thing was almost too much of an homage to the earlier Dior to me... Being inspired by going back to the basics is great, but it's kind of like he just revamped Christian's ideas instead of doing his own thing.

Again, it is gorgeous though

 

[71000]

Ugh, this was terrible. Without comparing Raf to Galliano, I still feel like the collection was extremely lacking and underwhelming. Haute couture needs to be artistic and inspiring! Did he forget this was HAUTE COUTURE and that he's designing for DIOR not JIL SANDER?! Maybe that basic shit flies when you're designing for a basic fashion house with basic designs, but Galliano revolutionized Dior and made it a symbol of extravagance and awe-inspiring designs. Galliano turned Dior's Haute Couture designs into ART. When you wear a couture piece you should be able to feel special like you're wearing an exquisite piece of art and I don't see that in the collection. In addition, some of the pieces he showed today were blatantly brought over from his final collection at Jil Sander and a few cosmetic changes done to them. This was neither new nor exciting. Couture CAN be minimalistic, but only a true pro can pull that off and Raf Simmons flopped miserably. Die die die bitch, Dior doesn't need you, fans of Galliano don't want you, and take your ridiculous, basic muse Daria with you. Karlie + Galliano + Dior was a magic combination.

 

[Babydoll]

Ugh, this was terrible. Without comparing Raf to Galliano, I still feel like the collection was extremely lacking and underwhelming. Haute couture needs to be artistic and inspiring! Did he forget this was HAUTE COUTURE and that he's designing for DIOR not JIL SANDER?! Maybe that basic shit flies when you're designing for a basic fashion house with basic designs, but Galliano revolutionized Dior and made it a symbol of extravagance and awe-inspiring designs. Galliano turned Dior's Haute Couture designs into ART. When you wear a couture piece you should be able to feel special like you're wearing an exquisite piece of art and I don't see that in the collection. In addition, some of the pieces he showed today were blatantly brought over from his final collection at Jil Sander and a few cosmetic changes done to them. This was neither new nor exciting. Couture CAN be minimalistic, but only a true pro can pull that off and Raf Simmons flopped miserably. Die die die bitch, Dior doesn't need you, fans of Galliano don't want you, and take your ridiculous, basic muse Daria with you. Karlie + Galliano + Dior was a magic combination.

Oh yes I agree with this. It looked more like ready-to-wear than haute couture! And I'm still not used to the fact that Raf is designing for Dior. However, there is something that appealed to me in this show (and not just the thinspo! ). Maybe the fact that they have gone back to old traditional Dior (but I gotta admit that no way does this top Christian D). However, Raf is NOT made for haute couture.
I agree, this is haute couture:

Also... where is Karlie?????

 

[71000]

Oh yes I agree with this. It looked more like ready-to-wear than haute couture! And I'm still not used to the fact that Raf is designing for Dior. However, there is something that appealed to me in this show (and not just the thinspo! ). Maybe the fact that they have gone back to old traditional Dior (but I gotta admit that no way does this top Christian D). However, Raf is NOT made for haute couture.
I agree, this is haute couture:

Also... where is Karlie?????

Exactly! How do you go from this:

to
this?

It's such a downgrade. I don't understand the praise for Raf at going back to the basics. As times have changed, Dior haute couture has gotten more and more extravagant and artistic. Each HC season, I would look forward to seeing what new masterpieces Galliano created for Dior. This is the first season in a long time where I have been disappointed and unimpressed.

 

[Tami]

As much as I loved it, the whole thing was almost too much of an homage to the earlier Dior to me... Being inspired by going back to the basics is great, but it's kind of like he just revamped Christian's ideas instead of doing his own thing

I felt this way about the Chanel show too. Yawn...



But I can see WHY fashion houses are moving in a more wearable couture direction. The market for those beautiful, extravagant gowns just isn't as big. These labels still need to make money, couture would otherwise be a dying niche if it didn't change with customer demands.

 

[71000]

I felt this way about the Chanel show too. Yawn...



But I can see WHY fashion houses are moving in a more wearable couture direction. The market for those beautiful, extravagant gowns just isn't as big. These labels still need to make money, couture would otherwise be a dying niche if it didn't change with customer demands.

Haute couture isn't directed at the general public though, only to those extremely rich multimillionaires and billionaires that can afford them. The clothes are made to order for a specific customer, so they don't mass produce these which would obviously result in a loss. But although the clientele is small (there are 100 couture buyers today), the dresses are extremely expensive, which is how the designers/fashion houses make a lot of money off of them. The cheapest haute couture dresses are $25k, but most haute couture dresses are hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars (which sounds expensive to most people but is affordable for the people who HC is directed at). The most expensive haute couture dress I know of was $9 million. The people that usually buy haute couture dresses are collectors that view the dresses as art, like Picasso paintings. It is the ultimate pinnacle of fashion, which is why it is so exclusive. Most of the money for designers/fashion houses comes from RTW though, so making haute couture wearable would just be like having a third and fourth FW in between F/W and S/S.

I think haute couture is a good test of a designer's creative skills, because it takes much more talent to design a good HC outfit than a good RTW outfit. A good HC collection can help hype up the designer/fashion house, which would result in higher sales for the RTW collections.

 

[Ello]

I totally get where @diamondsjoyandcharm is coming from, but can't help agreeing with @71000. These clothes were nice looks, but just wasn't what I want from a haute couture. I think designers should really free themselves for a haute couture show. It's one of their only chances to really put it out there and show what their made of. I love art, and fashion is a beautiful art. These are looks I could wear to the doctor.

 

[Silent Night]

I'm torn; on the one hand, I agree that the collection is derivative and veeeeery low-key - on the other, I really like it.

 

[fatfreefitchick]

Oh yes I agree with this. It looked more like ready-to-wear than haute couture! And I'm still not used to the fact that Raf is designing for Dior. However, there is something that appealed to me in this show (and not just the thinspo! ). Maybe the fact that they have gone back to old traditional Dior (but I gotta admit that no way does this top Christian D). However, Raf is NOT made for haute couture.
I agree, this is haute couture:

Also... where is Karlie?????

That's what I was thinking... very lacking in originality.
PROS:
gave off a very "classy" timeless appeal
very Dior. It goes along with their image well.
The clean lines and classic silhouette make this a good representation of the classic Dior.

CONS:
nothing special.
nothing even close to resembling haute couture. not much vivid imagination here.
You would think to make an impression he would have added a little more POW! to the collection. nothing really memorable about it. Where are the exaggerated shapes, lines, etc.? It fails to spark any inspiration.

 

[malignant_dolly]

When I first saw this collection, I dropped my jaw. Then paused thinking "Hold on, Raf, I'm back in a minute, honey" and filled my glass with my fav chardonnay. "Ok, we can continue"
Every single detail stole my heart. Especially this one!

When Anna Wintour saw this dress, her face was saying "omg, i love that"