A new era has been forced upon the House of Christian Dior after the sudden departure of its most celebrated designer, John Galliano, whose out of the box thinking, overt designs and out of this world showmanship lent to the opulence of Dior’s couture shows for years. After a shameful exit by Galliano, the French fashion house could not halt its rich history of creating elegant pieces and much buzzed about couture creations for its exclusive clientele. The show must go on, however; and on it did, under the creative direction of Bill Gaytten. With fashion’s heavy hitters in the front row, the stage was set to see what Gaytten would offer up for the Couture collection.
Karlie Kloss opened the show in a beautiful, sheer white dress with delicate embroidery on its umbrella skirt, a specialty of Gaytten. This was an homage to the atelier. The black and white color palette continued for many of the day looks with still more embroidery, wispy sheer fabrics with hand embroidered writings on them. The fabrics of choice were chiffon, organza, gauze. Gaytten had been Galliano’s right hand man for 16 years, learning from the master while adding his own perspective to each garment. The silhouettes were feminine yet strong with an emphasis on the delicate waist.
The attention truly was in the details at Dior. A black sleeveless frock glistened down the runway with crocodile scales hand-sewn onto every inch of the garment as paillettes. There was an injection of color, seen in a lipstick red houndstooth skirt, plum shift dresses and gowns as well as nude dresses, some with ombre plum hems. The gowns in this couture show were real show stoppers, dazzling as they made their way down the runway. The closing number, the 40th look, was a lipstick red strapless organza gown.
In his second season of showing couture for Christian Dior, Geytten has found his stride, creating equally opulent pieces for the House of Dior, but unlike Galliano, his collection today was extremely wearable. I can envision Michelle Obama, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Alba, Charlize Theron and many celebrities donning every single piece right off the runway.
Photos by Giovanni Giannoni
