!CULT OF: DIOR

Since Raf Simons ascended the creative throne at Christian Dior, tops are wispy, skirts are statement, and trousers are slim. The historically minimalist designer has a refreshingly different vision of the legendary label and the women who wear it—one consisting of pants under gowns, clashing colors, and busy bubble skirts—and if the reception he’s most intriguing designers— received from the fashion world is and it’s what captivates the fashion cognoscenti season any indication, he’s onto something. after season. Meanwhile, Simons’s The Belgium-born, art- riffs on the famous A-line python bags and pointy obsessed Simons has silhouette. But make no ankle-strap pumps have brought a jolt of frenetic mistake: Simons is not become ubiquitous energy to the brand after scrapping the trademark among the street-style set, being named successor to elegance of Dior. He’s simply with sartorial stars both John Galliano in April 2012. showing the next generation refined (French First Lady While his debut couture of women how to make it Valérie Trierweiler) and collection had strong ties their own. rebellious (The Misshapes’ to the architectural yet Recent faces of the Leigh Lezark) pairing his feminine shapes that were brand’s campaigns—Charlize sumptuous accessories with hallmarks of Mr. Dior’s New Theron, Marion Cotillard, crepe blazers and skimpy Look (think nipped waists, Natalie Portman, and Jennifer crop tops. No matter the Bar jackets, and full skirts), Lawrence—are the ultimate length of her hemline, the two seasons later Simons is versions of the new Dior girl. new Dior woman wants forging his own Dior. He’s They’re serious actresses, you to do a double take. creating clothes for a new the kind who take on dark, Her cotton shirtdress has tribe of women who are just twisted roles, chop off their a smattering of crystals on as discerning as traditional hair on a whim, win Oscars, the back, her Bar jacket may devotees, but also a little and yet remain exceptionally moonlight as a minidress, bit wild. private. and her heels are spiked. Christian Dior was The same red carpet She is not immune to the one of the preeminent queens clamor for Simons’s power of the shock factor. couturiers in Paris before otherworldly haute couture. She can’t be bothered with he introduced the New At the 2013 BAFTA Awards, a lot of makeup—a slick of Look, his revolutionary take Marion Cotillard’s bright mascara or a bold lip will on ready-to-wear, in 1947, yellow silk bustier dress do—and she usually throws bringing some long overdue had a revealing panel sliced her hair up in a messy bun. glamour to the masses of across the skirt to reveal (Witness J.Law’s barefaced postwar Paris. “We were the tops of her legs. The ad campaigns.) The new master craf ts emerging from the period of gray knitted evening dress Dior woman carries a quilted, war, of uniforms, of women- Jennifer Lawrence wore to chain-handled bag over at raf simons’s soldiers built like boxers,” the Los Angeles premiere her shoulder and balances dior, the feminine wrote Dior. “I drew women- of The Hunger Games: its ladylike form with an mystique is alive flowers, soft shoulders, fine Catching Fire was this year’s oversized gray coat. Her look and well. by maura waists like liana and wide smartest take on the naked- falls somewhere between kutner walters. skirts like corolla.” Simons but-not trend, oscillating polished and provocative. has effectively created a new between transparent and You’ll know she’s a member ® illustrated by New Look—one reflective of opaque with layers of folded of Raf’s club by the neon natalie lines our time. He has introduced fabric. It’s this fool-the-eye rosebud patch stitched lean suiting, statement craftsmanship that makes on her blazer, a nod to Mr. outerwear, and psychedelic Simons one of the industry’s Dior’s love affair with flowers.

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