Christian Dior Spring / Summer 2016

PARIS — A mountain of delphiniums alone is remarkable, but a hill of said flora smack in the middle of the Louvre’s Cour Carrée is something extraordinary, the magnitude of which bespeaks of one house and one house only, Christian Dior. Since Raf Simons made his debut for the storied French house for the Fall 2012 Couture collection, flowers have played a big role in subsequent presentations. No expense was spared for that grand entrance so beautifully memorialized in the coup of a public relations vehicle that was this year’s documentary Dior and I (starring Esther Heesch), and clearly none was either for Friday afternoon’s runway show architected by Alexandre de Betak and his production company Bureau Betak. And why not? Under the tenure of Raf Simons as Artistic Director of Christian Dior, the company has reportedly bloomed into one of the largest luxury fashion houses in the world. “I wanted the collection to have a purity to it,” said Simons in program for Friday’s runway show. To that end, Odette Pavlova, Yana Van Ginneken, Tessa Bruinsma, Hedvig Palm, Nikola Celeban (first Paris show exclusive), Sara Soric, and Wangy took to the runway wearing looks that expressed the simplicity of the line and all the import it carries on ideas of femininity, strength, and impact. For the entirety of the runway program, New Order’s poignant “Elegia” played, thereby driving home the focus of the collection and its creator. Credits include: Client, Christian Dior; Collection, Women’s R