Christian Dior by Raf Simons.. Paris ..spring 2015

Where to start? Raf seems to think he can rewrite or redefine fashion and what it means to be fashionable but alas he is far from capable. What is most apparent is that Raf seems to have no idea what women want to wear or what attracts them to the clothes they wear. He might think he can explain the bad clothes away but the proof is for all to see.

Granny prints made into ungainly octogenarian negligee or hospital gowns don’t exactly ring buy me in my mind, not even if the client is 80. Then of course there are a multitude of some of the oddest shapes on any runway as well some of oddest components of a particular look. Let’s talk about boot like footwear on all these white or spring like clothes. Then we have his predilection for adding details in the oddest places like the crook of an elbow or off to the side so far that it might as well be under the arm. While on the subject of details, let’s talk of the folkloric floral embroideries; if they are supposed to be sweet and innocent well to me this is not Dior no matter how hard he tries to make it so. Raf seems to have an issue with women and that is he refuses to really show them off in a truly feminine flattering way as Monsieur Dior did, as Galliano did, as Bohan did and as Gaytten did.

So let’s speak of the so called high points of the collection, of which there are few, which were the tailored pieces. One doesn’t have to stretch their imagination as to why he seems more successful with those as opposed to anything hyper feminine. He is a men’s designer and rather than spend time with women he sticks to what he knows best … men’s jackets! Even the tailored dresses work best for him as they relate to a more masculine view of women. The button detailed pieces work best and then there was one all white 2 piece which smarted of KK, Cavalli and Balmain, but still seemed right. Yes there were some more wearable pieces than offered in previous collections but they have no identity.

As an overview, you have to translate the vision to his MO and that is he must not think women have self-image issues, or that women want to feel and look sexy even when they are not baring body parts. He categorically refuses to offer Dior in the hyper feminine way all of his predecessors did and he surely haven’t a clue how to design a dress as has been evidenced in previous collections. Yes, this collection was better than the last few attempts but it is a collection that just seemed to go nowhere and was hardly a testament to the brand/maison.