Hey LVMH, Can I Get a Subscription?

To new Dior magazine featuring the forever French and elegant Dior muse, Marion Cotillard 

I know this is reserved for rich folks who frequent the boutiques, but c'mon. Show some Dior love, Mr. Arnault! 

Did Raf Simons Drop Dior Hints at his last Jil Sander Show?

That scallywag, Raf, was all "Oh gee, I don't know... what am I gonna do" back in February, but if you look closely at his final Jil Sander offering he was winking at his new creative post all along!

(Keep in mind these are Fall looks. The colors and light femininity alone scream DIOR) 

One of the things that made Christian Dior radical in his time was his brazen disregard for post-war Europe's supply shortage

M. Dior favored outre, voluminous designs that flaunted lush taste and style in the face of conservative and pensive gravity

And of course, this new direction, this "New Look" was also defined by the nipped waist and full skirt pairing that accentuated a woman's divine form























I may have always been a little dubious of Mr Simons filling this grand courtier's shoes, but for the subtle cheek it took to elude to his new home, I tip my hat at you sir and await your creations for this storied fashion house.

Dior Does Dovima

What does a house with a revered fashion reputation do after its new head designer's debut "Melancholy Mimes from Mars" couture collection was ripped to shreds? 

Revert to what you know works, and for Dior and Bill Gaytten, that fool proof course is "The New Look"

The nipped waist and dramatic skirt flourish shocked Carmel Snow (who famously coined the style's fashion forward moniker) post World War II and this level of sophistication is even more startling now when juxtaposed against so much bunk!

Personally each of these black and white wonders gives me visions of the one and only supermodel den mother and Avedon muse, Dovima

This retro refinement speaks to the well heeled and celebutante alike (that first dress should be top pick for Rooney Mara's Oscar look. You heard it hear first!) and the critics are already applauding. Go ahead Gaytten! Just furthering the mumblings that there's no need to rush replacing Galliano.

Sometimes It Can Be? Dior Fall 2011 Haute Couture

Be forewarned, the above photo is my favorite look (for the pure Kylie Minogue circa 2001-ness of it) from the Fall 2011 Haute Couture Dior show, the first without John Galliano. 

Former right hand man and now de facto designer, Bill Gaytten served up a soupcon of inspiration: sad harlequin clowns, neon Escher prints, cubism and teased hair and a heaping of celestial seasoning

(Yeah, Jourdan, I feel the same way)

One can give a pass for the inheritor of a dramatic exit, but a pass only lasts so long. Mr. Gaytten, this is DIOR. And we're not feeling your new look. Find a sole inspiration of creative depth and flesh it out. Entrance the 4 or 5 women who can afford this stuff with your craftsmanship and creativity. 

And leave the glitter filled finales to the Heatherettes of the world. 

All the best, 

It Can't All Be Dior

Designers Want You to Cocoon for Fall 2011

(the original)

It appears more than a few American designers attended  the "Balenciaga: Spanish Master" exhibition at the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute recently because there were numerous homages on this past week's runway to Cristobal's famous "cocoon coat"

(Marc Jacobs) 

The shape is simple: a coat made of a clean, fluid sphere that is like a shell for the body and provides a pedestal for the wearer's head

(Narciso Rodriguez)

Introduced in the 50's at the height of The New Look, Balenciaga went against the grain of over-emphasizing a woman's hour glass figure and instead opened the silhouette that allowed the woman movement and a certain air of chic

(Derek Lam's cropped shearling was a fresh interpretation for 2011)

(Lyn Devon's sweatshirt style felt new too)

(Thom Browne exaggerated the shape big time)

Will this trend carry over to Europe? Will retail embrace this harder to sell shape? Will everyone being doing the turtle this Fall? We shall see....

Sometimes It Can Be: Dior Spring 2011 Couture

John Galliano cites René Gruau, the famous fashion illustrator who worked for Christian Dior during the New Look of the forties and fifties, as his muse for the Spring couture season and the runway was alive with slashes of the pen and layered marabou, silks and tulles to create the artist's luminous wash of watercolor

One creative force being inspired by another, two great voices of a storied house in different points of the legend. These clothes are stunning and fluid and share the grace of the flick of an artist's wrist and whim. 

Sometimes It Can Be: Dior's Holiday Light Show

For the holidays the recently remodeled Dior flagship on 57th Street gave its exterior a little polish too. 

Nothing like a new New Look lady to inspire you to dress your best this holiday season

She's ready to purr "Santa Baby" and sip a sidecar

*Original photos courtesy of racked.com