All the great things are simple – yet another confirmation of that the golden rule provided Raf Simons in the new couture collection created by the Belgian fashion prodigy for Dior. More precisely, they should seem to be simple. None the less behind every embroidered flower, every fold, frill and zipper lie hundreds of hours of laborious handwork.
Haute couture for Simons is never a one-occasion attire of red carpet queens, ending up in museum exhibitions and private collections. Designer offers us to mix everyday basic clothes with creations of haute couture: luxurious, embroidered with gold thread velvet jackets, as if descended to the podium from XVIII century paintings, Raf combines with black straight trousers and sweaters; Marie-Antoinette style dress with basket-skirts appear very up-to-date thanks to their weightlessness and “simple” V-shaped cut of the bodice.
The richest in historical references of ever created by Belgian for the legendary Parisian house, this fall-winter collection includes eight stylistic eras. From bulk crinolines of the Louis XVI court to so dear to Christian Dior prewar “Belle Epoque” with feminine waist-fitted floor-length coat. From “swinging” twenties with straight concise dress silhouettes, finally freed from the clutches of corsets, to futuristic parachute jumpsuits.
Closing the show several dresses with sophisticated drapes looked slightly redundant. After all Raf Simons is an unsurpassed master of minimalism and all his stylistic experiments are a clear evidence of it.
Photo credits: Christian Dior / Kim Weston Arnold / Indigitalimages.com