It didn't take long for the aftershock of John Galliano's departure from Dior to be felt. In fact, those waves have rippled their way through the fashion house's resort 2012 collection in the form of a offering that entirely lacks the vintage drama Galliano used to bring to the brand. Even at first glance, it's clear that Galliano's influence no longer forms the base matter of the concept or the clothing.


This, of course, raises two possibilities. The first is that Dior is passing through a purgatorial phase, potentially even an identity crisis, and without a Creative Director at the helm they're effectively in a holding pattern. The other possibility, and one that feeds into the multitude of theories that surround Galliano's hasty sacking, is that this is where the fashion house's owners had wanted to take the aesthetic anyway: to something more commercial, something less expressive. If that were the case, then the resort 2012 collection is not an expression of a holding pattern, but a glimpse into the House of Dior's future.

What the design house's team have come up with is both pretty and wearable; from drop-waisted 1920s style dresses and pleated skirts to more exotic Grecian gowns and kaftans. But it's a mildly eclectic mix, far from the thematic cohesion Galliano used to orchestrate into each collection. Where it goes from there? That depends largely on who will take up Galliano's crown and what design brief they're given.
Christian Dior

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