Dior unlike Dior. Haute Couture.

Dior Haute Couture Fall 2011

 It certainly says Dior, but not Galliano. 

The Haute Couture shows have started. Twice a year we get the chance to see what fashion is capable of, why it is consider art by some, and how far ideas can be materialized into clothes. I have to admit this are my favorite runways; creativity shown at its best. The hard work and the extreme detail that requires to produce a single piece of haute couture is mouth dropping. Today Dior and Margiela were  some of the first ones to present their couture collections. The Maison Martin Margiela haute couture collection was a complete ode to futurism. PVC, sheer fabrics, hard silhouettes, Margiela went for the characteristic eccentric point of view that distinguish the maison so much. On the other hand Dior went for architectural vibes. Strange isn't it? Where lies the beautiful and immaculate representation of old and good times? If we compare it with last Haute Couture collection this seems spiritless, despite of the pastel palette. Cones, spheres and cubes spruce up models hair, while patterns remained consistent with such ornaments. For the first couture collection without Galliano, I felt quite disappointed. It's true, you can't expect a big display of Dior's capabilities after so much trouble the house has been after Galliano's dismissal. Through the entire collection you can see the efforts of Bill Gayten, new Creative Director of Dior, but somehow that just doesn't seem enough. He said "it was time to do something a bit more modern at Dior" (OnTheRunway). Contemporary couture you might call it, but I think most of us will stick with Old, Good, Galliano's Haute Couture times.