Dior reinterprets Paris and its classic 'New Look'
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You have to be daring to hold a parade in Paris in an enclosed space where you can reconstitute an improved version of the city. Dior Homme did the same thing on the catwalk this Friday, at the presentation of his men's collection, where he paid tribute to the 'New Look' of 1947 that he introduced into the men's wardrobe.
For more than a week, many Parisians have been wondering: What are they preparing in the Place de la Concorde, where dozens of workers have worked on the installation of a gigantic tent? The answer was known this Friday, when Dior's letters became the protagonists of the historic esplanade, overlooking the Seine and the Eiffel Tower.
But even more striking was its interior, only accessible to a few hundred people, including celebrities such as model Naomi Campbell, Colombian singer J Balvin, or designers Olivier Rousteing and Haider Ackermann.
Kim Jones, the British man who runs Dior's men's line, had the monumental Alexander III bridge reproduced almost to scale with a photographic panorama of the city, albeit somewhat retouched: the Grand Palais, the Eiffel Tower, the Orsay Museum and the prettiest buildings on the quay had been relocated to present an even more harmonious Paris.
This was the painting chosen to show a collection that, above all, conveyed peace. A silhouette designed for walking through Paris on a winter morning, somewhat nostalgic for the colors that imitated the local landscape: greys, whites, beiges and browns, with a few touches of black.
In prints, the Parisian spring slipped into embroidered sweaters and jackets -in a work more haute couture than ready-to-wear- and leopard print, in short capes and berets, which were the queens of the catwalk.
While the voice of the designer Christian Dior recited some of his best-known phrases, the models showed the masculine reinterpretation of the 'New Look', as the first collection shown by the couturier in 1947 became known, which revolutionized the post-war wardrobe by returning to the more traditional feminine codes that had been transformed in the 1920s.
The 'New Look' was seen in the jackets, marked at the waist and with a slight volume, like the firm's mythical 'Bar' model, although in gray tones and very British fabrics, undoubtedly a nod to the Jones roots.
Casual but dressy
The high-fashion look contrasted with sportswear, like tailored jogging pants, tight at the ankle, plush, beaded clogs like cycling gloves, also with diamonds.
The shoes were the result of a collaboration with the sandal brand Birkenstock.
Jones also used technical and waterproof fabrics in short jackets, classic cut trench coats, in an alliance between the formal and the informal, the garments to be at home and the tailoring. "I wanted to immerse myself in the archives, in the purity of the house's beginnings, in its original impulse. We have turned to the first collections, concentrating on architecture, using those elements and transforming them into modern men's pieces," Jones explained in a note that the guests received.
The models also wore some jewelry created by Victoire de Castellane, the jewelry director, such as chain bracelets with diamonds and emeralds, showing the levels of daring and gender fluidity that menswear has already gone through, where there is always space for unisex or women's garments.
In accessories, bags also stood out, designed to be carried as a handbag; the 'saddle' model crossed like a shoulder bag and remodeled into a kind of leather bag to... carry a bouquet of roses!
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Jones came out to greet the public accompanied by the British Stephen Jones, mythical collaborator of Dior, John Galliano or Vivienne Westwood, responsible for the berets, whose model has been baptized as 'Doris', and which promise to become a star accessory on next season.
