When LVMH was searching for a designer for its Dior brand, Raf Simons looked as if he might be the last boy at the dance. Other names were always mentioned first. But within a year he has transformed Dior and, in a way, fashion.
His boss, Sidney Toledano, the president of Dior, perhaps described the Raf effect best. Standing in a room filled with giant Mylar capsules, which reflected the designer’s interest in all things modern, Mr. Toledano said that Mr. Simons has brought depth and a sense of curiosity to the company. “We discover new things with him,” the executive said. “This is good. I am young again.”
To that encomium, Mr. Simons might add a sense of fun.
This collection showed him in an incredibly free state of mind as he reinterpreted a houndstooth pattern that first looked modern when Christian Dior used it in 1948. He added graphic elements in the form of striking knit dresses or early Warhol shoe illustrations (on bags and embroideries), and sought other connections with the couturier, like Dior’s love of Surrealism.
For Mr. Simons, who favors midcentury art, the process was one of juxtaposing ideas rather than seeking perfect matches. “In the end, it’s all personal feelings,” he said.
Personal or not, it was abundantly clear what Mr. Simons was up to with this show, even if it at times the pieces seemed to hover as an impression. He was trying to recreate the realities of having strong sensitivities — in the crashing of a black skirt through the opening of an elegant red coat, in the amount of asymmetry and in the varied silhouettes. A recording by Laurie Anderson of a visit to a West Village vet to see why her dog was so fat played for much of the show. That neurotic patter, against the self-reflecting clouds of Mylar, said it all.
That Mr. Simons is able to pierce the strange membrane of time and memory, and make clothes of exceptional beauty and calm for today, is why he has the fashion industry’s attention. In a very real way, these clothes also appeal to many types of women.
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CATHY HORYN | March 1, 2013 | Read More. Article Link
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