………………Along one wall was a mix of designers, and a display of the Dior perfume collections. Can you guess which garment is from which designer………..Dior, Galliano, and Raf Simmons were represented here. This was an unmatched exhibit IMHO.
………………..The next designer to become the head of DIOR after Bohan was Gianfranco Ferre……I’m noy 100% sure, but I believe he was the first Italian designer to be hired to design the Dior Couture collection………Of all the Dior designers Ferre was the most elaborate and luxe. His clothes were extreme, and heavily embroidered. He applied his architectual…..His fabrics were the finest and absolutely stunning…………..He was definitely the whipped cream with the cherry on the top!
………………………..John Galliano followed Ferre……………….John was the most outrageous and fantastical of all the Dior designers. He had an imagination gone wild!…..Was it Dior?…that was questionable, but at this time in fashion it was his extreme imagination that everyone talked about, and that’s what the owners wanted…..to be talked about….His clothes were gorgeous, maybe less wearable than the others, but in COUTURE a designer must be extreme and create controversy, and TALK……..However, there is good press and bad press……Even though his collections were highly praised and photographed by every major magazine….and was THE FASHION DARLING…..nothing could save John from what was ahead…….On a drunken evening out at a famous Parisian restaurant John made loud anti-Semitic remarks, and made such a scene that the news was all over Paris by daybreak and in every newspaper around the world…….He basically committed career suicide. He was fired from Dior, and disappeared for a few years…..One stupid drunken night was all it took to end a career…..He is working again, but has never reached the heights and the potential he had. I don’t think he ever will……..people don’t forget……and many will never forgive…….A truly sad end to a brilliant singular career.
………………………Raf Simons is a good designer….in general…..but not IMHO….a great one, and I don’t think he was up to the job at hand. He is more known for simple clothes, but is that what French Couture needs???? His clothes in the exhibit look more like Ready to Wear than couture. There is no spark or any wonderment to anything on display. He only lasted 3 years or six collections…..three spring and three fall………………..NEXT
…………………………Maria Grazia Chiuri is the present designer of Dior. They hired her from Valentino where she co designed the collection with Pierpaolo Piccioli. When two designers are responsible for one collection the questions always come up who did what!!!!???? Being a co-designer with Donna Karan for nine years always brought the question….one that we would never answer. More than likely the questioners were wrong in their assumptions when they tried to guess……With Maria and Pierpaolo, one assumed that Maria would have done the more feminine, fanciful, colorful clothes and Pierpaolo the more tailored, classic, neutral pieces….but we found out when they were separated, and on their own, it was far from the truth and the complete opposite…..Pierpaolo went on to create incredibly beautiful and exciting collections for Valentino. I don’t think Maria has found her footing yet. I can’t say I have really loved any of her collections. Of course there are always pieces here and there that are beautiful, but IMHO she has failed to make an exciting statement for Dior , and has not taken it to the next level. Out of all the pieces that were on exhibit Maria’s pieces were the least exciting or successful……..I wonder who will be next………in the fashion business there is always a…………..NEXT!