Dior Spring Summer 2013 Review (Part I)

We don’t really do collection reviews in the blog but I have to give this one a special exception. Dior Spring Summer 2013 collection has so much to talk about. The live-streaming experience, the venue, the minimalist setup, the makeup, (and of course) the clothes! – together all these are signals to the dawn of the NEW DIOR!

image source: Dior.com

The Brand

For prestigious house like Christian Dior, you can say the atelier has gone through a lot since the monsieur’s passing. The drama that surrounded its then-designer: late Yves Saint Laurent in 1950s, sudden appointment of Marc Bohan as succeeding designer up to the modern-days’ ‘Galliano-gate’ that generated worldwide attention which later expectedly ended the designer’s glorious stint in the prestigious fashion house; without a proper swan song.

Raf Simons’ appointment as the new Creative Director at this storied French brand was pretty much celebrated albeit doused with justified skepticism.

"Can this Belgium-born designer succeed in reviving half-a-century old eminent atelier that is House of Christian Dior, back to its glory?"

Yves Saint Laurent during his Dior days with models after the show.

image source: furinsider.com

Marc Bohan after one of the Dior show.

image source: MSN Lifestyle

John Galliano after Dior Spring Summer 2008 'Madame X' Haute Couture show.
image source: Maltastar.com

The Live-Streaming Experience

Everyone knows Burberry is the true pioneer in championing digital world as marketing tool and it seems up till today, French brands prefer to stay away. The reason: blurry line drawn on the Internet on what is classy and trashy (ehem...)

Perhaps thanks to the Galliano-gate, the brand has gone through a lot of changes since then. The website went through major redesign works and DiorMag, an online magazine of the brand was introduced in February 2012.

The brand joined the ‘live-stream’ bandwagon in the same month with the Fall Winter 2012 collection as the lab rat. Prominent blogger, Susie Lau of Style Bubble was invited to specially monitor Twitter feeds during the show.

So much has changed since then. Last evening show (Malaysian time) said it all. The video and audio quality was respectable (with four options to navigate between low-quality up to high-definition). Most notably are the camera views that were properly executed for all the 54 looks throughout. It brings you closest view possible of a ‘front-rower’. My words can never properly justify the experience; you have to watch it yourself so, here.

The Venue

Dior show venues have always been predictable, if not boring. This little and perhaps unimportant detail had quite a shake in this year alone. At first, it seems like the brand has called for desperate measures to make the show be more ‘anticipated’; especially through the Gaytten days (can we all agree not to mention that, ever again?) but it seems like the usual right thing to do now.

Hotel des Invalides as seen from Pont Alexandre III across the river Seine. If you're a big fan of Adele, this view should remind you of a certain video.

image source: Britannica

image source: wikipedia

For Spring Summer 2013 show (Raf’s second collection but first ready-to-wear at Dior), the brand has opted for the garden in front of Hotel des Invalides to construct a temporary structure of très grande white modernist box as their show venue. Again the painstaking construction process is featured on DiorMag and you can watch the video here.

image source: Nowfashion.com

After watching the live-stream, I learnt that the collection is all about ‘freedom, movement and liberation’ – perhaps a key factor on why Hotel des Invalides was decided (prominent venue during French Revolution), but then again almost everywhere in Paris is part of the Revolution so perhaps it went down to being the only ample enough venue that’s available during Fashion Week.

It’s 4am in the morning now. I have to end my post here. Shall continue on reviewing the most important part of the show, which of course – the fifty-four prodigious looks that is Dior Spring Summer 2013!! 

Till then, xo

POST-SCRIPTUM: But before I do that, I would like to put up a photo of Galliano and his girls during his Dior days which I find essentially connected to yesterday's show. Thoughts?

Study the bar jackets, the evening dress with sheer overlays, the silk skirt underneath bar jacket and most prominently the shoe silhouette.

Dior will always be Dior!

Written by Arman
twitter:@malaychic