I've always wondered what is like inside a couture fashion house
or what it would be like to work in one, there's so many questions I have
unanswered like; is it really all handmade? How many people does it take to
complete one dress? And how long does it take? The film 'Dior and I' gives you
that insight to Christian Dior’s fashion house and how a collection is put
together in such short time, with such a demand. You follow the designer Raf
Simons who takes over as the creative director at Dior. His work is very
minimalist so going into couture let's his audience see that he doesn’t just
work in this way! Dior came into his element in the 50s with a post war New
Look which changed the way women dressed. The garments became
very feminine and reflected the stereotypical shape of a
woman with a small waist and hour glass figure. Dior creates his brand to
dress women and make them feel sophisticated, dainty, elegant and
more confident.
The brand has a very distinctive look which is so well known and
since Christian Dior passed just 10 years after creating the house, other
designers have taken the role as art director but still have kept the iconic
design of the original garments but modernized them to the time they were
working there. Simons states that though he is the head of designs he still
feels like he is working for Christian Dior and the 'Name' of the brand rests
on him. You see him look back though previous designs and the first originals
to gain inspiration of the shape and the cuts of the garments, he adapts them
to make them modern with his own twist but still very much Dior.
