Designer Raf Simons paid homage to Christian
Dior’s legendary love of flowers creating a mountain of 400,000 delphiniums
in
the heart of Paris, the centrepiece of a stunning setting to show the
house’s
collection on Friday.
The giant lavender hill created in the courtyard of the Louvre drew
A-list
celebrities including brand ambassador Rihanna, resplendent in a diaphanous
pink fur trimmed coat and aviator glasses, and Game of Thrones star Emilia
Clarke.
Simons took the house creator’s classic lines further showing off cropped
sweaters with scalloped edges and delicately undulating sleeves, satin
parkas
with stunning embroidery and peekaboo but prim ivory lingerie under organdy
gowns.
“I wanted the collection to have a certain purity,” Simons said in a
statement.
“I wanted to express an idea of femininity, fragility and sensitivity
without sacrificing strength and impact,” he said.
“A collection that is simplified to the extreme, focussed on a single
directing line which at the same time evokes feminity, fragility and
sensibility.”
Pastel shades abounded and the models — led by house favourite Sodia
Mechetner — had minimum make-up in line with Simons avowed objective of
purity.
There was also a new version of the Bar, Dior’s iconic and form hugging
jacket with pleats at the back, and masculine tailoring in some trousers and
shorts.
Actress Chiara Mastroianni, the daughter of screen legends Marcello
Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve, gushed praise after the show.
“I found it very beautiful, very romantic. This romanticism and this
softness is very unexpected today,” she said.
At Issey Miyake’s show in the nearby Tuileries Gardens, pleating —
the
maison’s speciality — took on a new twist being made with baked fabrics
that
bounce and bob to create an optical feast.
The tropics-inspired collection was awash with a riot of colours with
stripes and squares and raffia dresses.
At Isabel Marant, exoticism abounded with Berber blouses, harem
trousers,
tunics with billowing sleeves and silver lame pants and short skirts.
(AFP)