Couture diary: Christian Dior’s everlasting ode to the New Look
I don’t know what bigger news is: the return of the ‘80s pouf at Christian Dior’s spring 2011 haute couture show, or designer John Galliano’s own new ‘do, a lush and healthy-looking pixie. Very sexy and gamine!
Day one of Couture Week begins with a jet-lagged moi waking with just enough time to grab a quick lunch of grilled turbot at my hotel. The charming Hotel Castille is dangerously close to the Chanel boutique on Rue Cambon and I have to pass those tempting windows with the new lion-clasped purses every time I venture out.
It is raining as I arrive at the Musée Rodin for the Dior show, but that hasn’t stopped many guests from wearing fur. I see two white minks and two fox coats where the hair is stitched to ribbons of chiffon. This is haute couture territory after all.
Galliano’s collection opens with a red and black silk dress with the colours blurred together in a degrade as if they have been stirred with a painter’s gouache. Emerald greens, magenta, blush, dove grey and baby blue follow, but the story of this collection is strong silhouette, inspired by the illustrations of Rene Gruau. Silk and faille bubbled out from the shoulders, down collars, across hems, and there was a gravity-defying airiness to every look. Asymmetry was a sub-theme, so there could be a stiff cowl leaning to one side of a silk jacket or a strip of black tulle down one sleeve. Dior’s New Look silhouette from the ‘50s appeared with pleated Mad Men skirts bouncing down the runway. Some skirts had up to seven layers of tulle rippling down the legs.
Decorative touches included feathers or sequined brush-strokes that resembled feathers – they were so well-crafted it was hard to tell. The best thing about couture is that, unlike ready-to-wear, every outfit is a showstopper. And even though this collection wasn’t as theatrical as some of Galliano’s previous outings, it didn’t disappoint.
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://fashionmagazine.com/style/couture-diary-christian-dior/&title=Couture diary: Christian Dior’s everlasting ode to the New Look&picture=https://fashionmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/jan11ChristianDior_lg.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_32304" align="aligncenter" width="496" caption="Christian Dior. Photography by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images."][/caption]
I don’t know what bigger news is: the return of the ‘80s pouf at Christian Dior’s spring 2011 haute couture show, or designer John Galliano’s own new ‘do, a lush and healthy-looking pixie. Very sexy and gamine!
Day one of Couture Week begins with a jet-lagged moi waking with just enough time to grab a quick lunch of grilled turbot at my hotel. The charming Hotel Castille is dangerously close to the Chanel boutique on Rue Cambon and I have to pass those tempting windows with the new lion-clasped purses every time I venture out.
It is raining as I arrive at the Musée Rodin for the Dior show, but that hasn’t stopped many guests from wearing fur. I see two white minks and two fox coats where the hair is stitched to ribbons of chiffon. This is haute couture territory after all.
Galliano’s collection opens with a red and black silk dress with the colours blurred together in a degrade as if they have been stirred with a painter’s gouache. Emerald greens, magenta, blush, dove grey and baby blue follow, but the story of this collection is strong silhouette, inspired by the illustrations of Rene Gruau. Silk and faille bubbled out from the shoulders, down collars, across hems, and there was a gravity-defying airiness to every look. Asymmetry was a sub-theme, so there could be a stiff cowl leaning to one side of a silk jacket or a strip of black tulle down one sleeve. Dior’s New Look silhouette from the ‘50s appeared with pleated Mad Men skirts bouncing down the runway. Some skirts had up to seven layers of tulle rippling down the legs.
Decorative touches included feathers or sequined brush-strokes that resembled feathers - they were so well-crafted it was hard to tell. The best thing about couture is that, unlike ready-to-wear, every outfit is a showstopper. And even though this collection wasn’t as theatrical as some of Galliano’s previous outings, it didn’t disappoint.){kind=link}