After over a year of drama at Dior, Raf Simons finally made his much-anticipated debut, showing his first-ever couture collection for the house today in Paris. And everyone came to see it and support him. Here’s everything we know about the show–from the setting, to the attendees (heavy on the designers), to the clothes, to Read more →
When we first saw this image for Raf Simons‘s fall/winter menswear collection, we thought it was one of those anti-diabetes posters plastered all over the MTA–you know, diabetes can lead to amputations? But that’s no amputation–that’s a chin. See? Yep, definitely a chin. And an extremely well-groomed chin, at that–have you ever seen a man’s Read more →
Fashion houses have been struggling lately with the notion of whether or not a label needs a marquee designer to be the face/DNA/personality of a brand. (See: The Simon Spurr fiasco). When Galliano was fired from Dior for his now-notorious anti-Semitic rant, many wondered what would become of the house in the wake of the loss of its charismatic artistic director.
What happened is that Dior’s sales increased. With Galliano’s right-hand man Bill Gaytten standing in until a successor was named, Dior’s revenues hit $1 billion in 2011 for the first time ever, according to the Financial Times. Sidney Toledano, the president and chief executive of Christian Dior was surprised.
Thinking of buying a Chanel-branded cell phone while vacationing in Paris this summer? (You totally were, right?) Well don’t, because you could go to jail for three years, as these clever new anti-counterfeit ads introduced today by French luxury goods association Comité Colbert make plain.
It’s Mother’s Day this weekend! Did you call your mom so that you could coordinate outfits for that brunch you’re taking her to (and for which you’ll wait two hours and overpay)? OK, so dressing to match your mom is sort of creepy, but you can get away with it if you’re in the 6 Read more →
Twenty-seven year old French designer Maxime Simoens may not be going to Dior anytime soon, but LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault may still be courting him for something. WWD‘s Miles Socha is reporting that Arnault is investing in Simoens’ eponymous label, which is only two years old. Quite a departure from Arnault’s recent targets like Bulgari and Hermès.
Agyness Deyn’s Dream Role: Model Agyness Deyn shadowed an exotic dancer to learn the ins and outs of the business for her role in the upcoming film Pusher. Roles she’d like to play next? Jane Eyre or Joan of Arc. {Vogue UK}
“Goodsmellas” Are Dudes Who Love Scents: The male counterparts of “perfumistas,” “Goodsmellas” are a community of scent-loving men. They range from government workers to members of the NYPD, including one 9/11 responder who lost his sense of smell for two years before becoming a scent fanatic. Some Goodsmellas have as many as 420 separate niche scents. And they’re on YouTube. Smell on, ‘Smellas. {Racked NY}
Sidney Toledano Talks Raf Simons: Dior took its spring/summer 2012 couture show to Shanghai, where designer Bill Gaytten took his last bow for the house. Sidney Toledano, president and chief executive of Dior, seemed very pleased with new hire Raf Simons: “I always said that the right person would come along when all the stars aligned and that’s exactly what happened last week,” he said, before adding that Simons has already “begun to lay out his vision” for Dior. {Telegraph UK}
Much has been made of Raf Simons’ appointment to Dior, and the subsequent minimalist face-off that will supposedly follow (according to all the major critics) between him, Hedi Slimane at YSL and Phoebe Philo at Celine. But Raf Simons would like you to not pigeonhole him as strictly a minimalist.
Simons gave an interview in today’s WWD to offer a little glimpse into what we can expect from a Simons-designed Dior collection. The first thing he wanted to do is make sure we understand his aesthetic a little better.
As you’ve probably heard, the biggest fashion story of the past year got resolved yesterday when Christian Dior announced that Raf Simons would take over as artistic director of the house, succeeding John Galliano. The news comes only one month after former Dior Homme designer Hedi Slimane was named creative director at Yves Saint Laurent. Read more →
The waiting game is finally over. Raf Simons will succeed John Galliano as the creative director of Dior, the New York Times is reporting. “The first time I heard about the Dior position, I thought, ‘This feels right’” Simons told Cathy Horyn at the Times. “It is one of the ultimate challenges, and a dream Read more →
We’re beginning to see why Dior is in no rush to appoint a new creative director. The company continues to see sales increase (a lot) in the wake of John Galliano’s firing.
We wish we were making this up. The Dior rumor mill went on hiatus for a few months, perked up again during Paris fashion week and we haven’t heard anything since…until now. And it’s not at all what we expected to hear.
According to our source, Kanye West–you know, the rapper who designed a couple of not-so-well received collections and showed them in Paris–has been in talks with the 65-year-old couture house about the position John Galliano left vacant over a year ago.
