Christian Dior: A True Homage to Monseiur Dior
By: Mari Davis & Michelle Taylor
Photos by FW

PARIS, Jul 10, 2005/ FW/ ---- In a mere 22 collections Christian Dior became a legend of sophisticated allure designing to create ultimate femininity.

Celebrating his centennial, born in 1905, Granville, Normandy his light was spent prematurely at the tender age of only 51 at the top of a career that has continued well past his death. With the Dior memory still well intact John Galliano presented an Haute Couture collection for fall 2006 that would have had Monsieur Dior himself in a standing ovation.

Lighting strikes and a horse driven carriage lets a lady off at the giant wrought iron gates to walk alone in the pages of this fashion fairy tale.

Amongst death and recollection spiders webs have engulfed silent chandeliers and fog hides the black sandy path that will take her from turn of the century ideas into a celebration of antique cultures and South American voyages.

Bare silhouettes are transformed into walking mannequins that come alive with pincushions on their wrists and fabrics tacked to their nude bodices in an ode to a master tailor and visionary.

Plentiful skirts dance as changing textures take on floral embroidery and intricate stitching while colors are encountered and mixed in a perfect palette of memory. Blood red fades to antique rose and vibrant blues mingle with greens and yellows in a flash of light.

Peruvian motifs, the flicker of gold and jet beading merge to create a collection of excellence showing the Galliano genius and Dior inspiration.

Folds, pleats and draping play with volume both symbolically and literally as petals fall on skirts and the torso is accentuated to celebrate the sensuality of a lady, lover and mother.

Pheasants on bonnets, page boys in sailor suits and the super model talent of Linda, Naomi, Eva and Erin as the Dior living dolls make up the essence of not only what the house of Christian Dior has become under the helm of Galliano, but answers the quintessential question why Haute Couture is simply indispensable.

Creativity at its finest and the celebration of clothes that goes beyond the accessible, but that rather becomes unforgettable.

Christian Dior

Christian Dior

Christian Dior

Christian Dior