The Dior couture Autumn-Winter 2014-15 collection show

Upon arriving in the gardens of Paris' Musée Rodin, nothing could have hinted at the world that awaited within the immense white amphitheater simply marked with the letters D.I.O.R. Inside, it was if a spaceship had landed in the middle of Paris. Guests took their places on lacquered black Napoleon III chairs set in a circle in the bright space whose walls were carpeted in white orchids sporting violet or yellow pistils, the whole reflected by mirrors to infinity. In this subtle contrast between the silvery futurism of the mirrors and the delicacy of these flowers so beloved of Christian Dior, the guests set off on a voyage punctuated by eight stops, eight worlds, eight eras revisited by Raf Simons' contemporary vision. To the electric riffs of the American rock group Sonic Youth, the models emerged through different sliding doors onto the circular runway, a runway that took on the aspect of a time machine as it showed a succession of looks, many drawn from the past and all projected into the House's future.

The first stage of this odyssey? The 18th century, so dear to Christian Dior, and of which Raf Simons delivered an incredibly contemporary vision. Pannier dresses revisited and lightened with airy tulle petticoats. Pastel colors, cream, celadon green, pale pink, which, due to their delicacy, appear almost white. As the models roamed the runway, and their hands slipped nonchalantly into the pockets of these court dresses 2.0, the splendor of Versailles meshed with a sense of relaxed purity.

Taking a light-year leap, we’ve suddenly been projected straight into the 21st century, between past, present and the near future. In the Dior spaceship the outfits boast technical details. Strutting past in zippered and embroidered taffeta pilot suits, are these women couture cosmonauts or elegant ladies dressed for evening?

Guided by their confident walk, we follow other groups to the early years of the 20th century. In their long Edwardian coats of cashmere or fur, which seem practically to sweep the floor, they also explore new color horizons: the soft pastels have given way to clear colors and, to the rhythm of their steps, as a dark fabric flares open, trouser legs appear in flashes of fuchsia, emerald green and bright red.

And the voyage continues, exploring the eras with boldness and lightness: court bodices transformed into couture miniskirts, next the splendid justaucorps of an 18th-century marquis which become evening coats, worn simply over black trousers; the garçonne allure of the 1920s, reinterpreted in fringed and embroidered dresses… And of course the Bar  jacket, whose iconic architecture Raf Simons revisited by playing with the volumes of the collar. By turns peacoat, jacket or dress, its variations seem to have arisen from a trip through time, from the meeting between the house of Dior’s past and the modern vision of its creative director.

CHRISTIAN DIOR COUTURE FW14

Date.- Monday, July 7th 2014
Venue.- Musée Rodin, Paris, France.
Pavilion.- By Bureau Betak.
Video.- By Tender Night.