Simons to Dior: A New Beginning for the Historic House?

Photo via the New York Times

After a year and half and three fashion weeks of waiting, Raf Simons has been appointed as creative director for the house Dior. While this inevitably will bring a sense of relief to investors and fans of the brand, it marks a new era for the house. Simons’ wildly successful run at Jil Sander is evidence of his ability to make commercially viable clothes, but one must beg the question: does Simons have the vision to move the Dior brand back into the fashion world’s good graces?

Season after season, Bill Gaytten created perfectly lovely, but uninspiring garments and while we can not expect anyone to live up to John Galliano’s eccentricity, we can hope for more. Simons, trained by Antwerp 6 alum Walter Van Beirendonck, has been overwhelmingly successful at interpreting codes of a pre-existing house as evidenced through his work at Jil Sander, but it remains to be seen how Simons’ decidedly Belgian aesthetic will interact with the historical weight of Dior’s patented codes. While Marc Jacobs and Haider Ackermann were more immediately obvious choices to direct the house, Simons has the potential to rewrite the aesthetic history of Dior.

In appointing Mr. Simons to fashion’s most coveted position, Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy has taken an enormous risk, but I expect they will reap an enormous reward. The best fashion houses survive through innovation  (See: CHANEL, Lanvin) and this appointment promises exactly that. Simons’ aesthetic seems diametrically opposed to that of Dior, however, it is an enormous opportunity for the house and for LVMH to reinvigorate a brand that seemed a bit staid, even under the direction of Galliano. It’s high time for the fashion world to experience a bit of excitement. Let’s hope Simons delivers. 

The Stunning Resurrection of McQ

Like a phoenix from the ashes, McQ has been brilliantly resurrected. The diffusion line of the incomparable house of Alexander McQueen, has been reworked and relaunched under the direction of Sarah Burton. Where McQ was once a shadow of the house’s main line, it now offers a fully-fledged, iconic perspective of its own. 

London Fashion Week Favorites, Part III.

The final installment of London Fashion Week. These last two designers had stand out, mind blowing collections. A perfect snapshot of why London Fashion Week rocks.

Erdem

Image via style.com

Image via style.com

Erdem, a brand now known around the world for clothing Princess Kate in their exquisitely detailed lace, is swiftly ascending to fashion stardom. Instead of playing it safe and riding on royal coat tails, the brand is pushing boundaries by incorporating unexpected elements into their proper English garments. Rubber trimmings, oversized faux jewels, and lucite brought an improper edge to lady-like ensembles. The overall experience was impactful, perhaps shocking. But, Sometimes the most off-beat aesthetics are the most beautiful.

Mary Katrantzou

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Image via style.com

Just days after the release of her Topshop collaboration, Mary Katrantzou’s main line showed in London to spectacular success. Playing with both exaggerated form and print,Katrantzou’s Fall 2012 showing is an impressive display of the designer’s talent and potential for growth. It’s easy think that Katrantzou’s print-centric style will quickly become overwrought and tedious, but she continually overcomes expectations. This collection is by no means an exception. It seems that origami forms are a central trope of this season’s offerings on a global scale and Katrantzou has maximized their potential through her signature strategically mismatched prints. Katrantzou's evening offerings are especially impressive, taken her eccentric style and rendering it black-tie appropriate without sacrificing style or perspective.

London Fashion Week Favorites, Part II.

Burberry Prorsum

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Image via style.com

While it is incredibly difficult for Christopher Bailey to live up to last spring’s phenomenal Burberry Prorsum showing, he managed a strong, cohesive follow up for Fall 2012. Playing with shape and volume, Bailey used ruffles, quilting, and texture to reinvent the classic Burberry staples. Bow belts dominated the catwalk, emphasizing an enhanced womanly figure while, interestingly positioned, contrasting cargo pockets distorted the classicism of the hourglass silhouette. If there’s anything one can learn from Christopher Bailey, it is that you can reinvent the wheel and succeed. 

Christopher Kane

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Image via style.com

CHRISTOPHER KANE. This man is clearly a freakin’ genius. In a stunning collection that moved, much like a color wheel, from black to blue to purple to red, was as much as an emotional experience as it was an aesthetic one. Ingenious optically textured fabrics were the constant in this season’s Kane wardrobe. Much like the galaxy print before it and the mirror-spotted textiles before that, this is destined to become an international trend to be knocked off for seasons to come. Interspersed with leather accents, knits, and slick animal prints, this innovative textile created an image of the future. One in which conservative, business dressing is a relic of the past, and creativity reigns supreme. A++ for Kane.

Giles

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Image via style.com

Giles Fall 2012 embodies an “Eyes Wide Shut” meets English school marme aesthetic. It’s an unlikely combination, but ultimately a successful one. From a new take on Le Smoking to a deliciously perverse take on the school girl uniform, Giles is a collection that tests the limits of memory and shared reference. For fashion theorists, this is a collection to feast on for years to come. For fashion enthusiasts, its a collection that's at once familiar and subversive. One to be remembered.

Peter Pilotto

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Image via style.com

Peter Pilotto seems to have turned a mildly pleasant, if not overwhelming, acid trip into a fashion dream. Fall 2012 boasts bright, primary colors, mind-bending graphics, and thoroughly sexy shapes. This is not the collection for every woman, but it is a collection for the daring ones. Destined to be seen on street style star Taylor Tomasi Hill, this collection is a benchmark for London’s independent spirit. 

A Look into the Mind of Juergen Teller.

Juergen Teller: Exposed on Nowness.com.


Juergen Teller is one of those polarizing figures in fashion. Wildly successful, yet un-commercial, Teller has revolutionized the way we view advertising images in fashion and has forced us to question how we consider beauty. This video from the Nowness provides a peak into the mind of the famous photographer. Check it out. 

London Fashion Week, Part I

London Fashion Week has begun, I can already tell that things are about to get INSANE. Assuming that you care, here are my favorite shows so far.

Topshop Unique

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Image via Style.com

Drawing on decidedly feminist eras, this season’s Unique collection was obviously and ode to strong women. Styled by former British Vogue editor Kate Phelan, the collection favored silhouettes popularized during the second world war--wide leg pants, functional jackets, and belted shirt dresses in muted khaki, burgundy, and slate. The slouchy forms  were particularly pervasive and were reminiscent of the early Parisian garconnes who favored the ease of wear that men’s garments afforded them over Dior’s New Look. Ending the show with updated-flapper silhouettes was a stellar choice, bringing a sense of glamorous, functional nonchalance to an already strong outing. The garments’ conjure the historical relationship between fashion and women’s liberation. Unique’s intellectual and historically reverent turn is bound to be a retail success and is a sign of bigger and better things for the Topshop brand. 

Simone Rocha

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Image via Style.com

London is, if nothing else, an incubator for great talent and Simone Rocha’s first runway presentation is a stunning example of that. 25 consistently strong, meticulously crafted looks comprised her fall collection. While the silhouettes tended toward updated classics--the boyfriend blazer, peplum tops, and collared shift dresses--the unexpected fabrics elevated the collection’s successes. Tulle overlays, transparent, dream-like lace, and well-worked wools provided a new perspective on casual dressing and solidified Rocha’s place among London’s designers to watch. 

John Rocha

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Image via Style.com

In past seasons it was easy to perceive John Rocha’s work as a sort of McQueen-light alternative. This season, the Hong Kong-born designer (and father of Simone) came into his own, defining his surprisingly elegant, post-goth aesthetic. Models dressed in over sized belted furs read as graceful, brooding avian creatures, while open knits and sheer patchwork construction balanced the show’s serious tone. 

Johnathan Saunders

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Image via Style.com

A phenomenal season for Johnathan Saunders. Optical illusion prints, unexpected color, and slightly skewed takes on classic silhouettes make this collection particularly exciting. The collections outerwear is particularly successful, as it manages to reinvent the classic pea coat in a range of unexpected colors and textiles. I’m very much a fan of the almost-perverse take on the standard British plaid which promises to be a street style staple in the season to come.

New York Fashion Week Favorites, Part III.

The final installment of my New York Fashion Week musings.  I am so ready for the big dose of crazy that London promises.

3.1 Phillip Lim 

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Image via style.com

Season after season, Philip Lim makes clothes that are quietly interesting, well-constructed, and versatile.  This season, however, Lim assembled a collection for strong women. Forms veered toward the architectural without becoming avant garde, the predominantely primary color schemes evoked a sense of clarity and direction, and separates worked together symbiotically. Lim’s collection stands out not only for the stregnth of the clothes, but for the women destined to wear them. 

The Row

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Image via style.com

I remember when everybody laughed when the Olsens announced they would be launching a luxury line. Well, who’s laughing now? The Row’s fall collection is an excersize in restraint. The subdued color palate allows the garments’ construction to speak for itself, emphasizing these garments’ potential for years of wear.  Years in the spotlight have obviously afforded Mary-Kate and Ashley the knowledge that true luxury is longevity. 

J.Crew

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Image via style.com

Make no mistake, J.Crew’s latest outing is very much comprised of “fashion” pieces. While J.Crew may be an accessible mass market brand, they’re continually expanding the boundaries of the average women’s sense of dressing without resorting to cheap knockoffs. This seasons collection includes J.Crew’s usual fare--interesting prints, bold colors, and layering-- but adds some extra oomph in the accessories department. Shoes by Manolo Blahnik and structural bags in a wide range of colors leave little to be desired for next fall’s wardrobe and promise to be wearable for seasons to come. 

Proenza Schouler

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Image via style.com

If you weren’t totally certain that the Proenza Schouler boys had arrived, you should be now. While their growing commercial success is nothing to laugh at, their very editorial take on Fall is something to celebrate. Asymmetrical, origami forms punctuate this well-curated collection, lending a oriental mystique to Proenza’s off-beat luxe aesthetic. The collection may prove challenging to the myriad of retailers who now stock their goods, but the Proenza Schouler woman is ready for it--no, begging for it. I know I am.