The reinvention of the DIOR Bar Jacket

04.09.2020 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

In one of their most recent ventures, Dior revisited one of their most prized possessions – the classic Bar Jacket. Created in 1947 by the monsieur Dior himself as a part of his first Haute Couture collection , the jacket has remained one of the house’s staple pieces up until today. For the FW 20-21 show, we saw  this emblematic piece re-imagined by Maria Grazia Chiuri in a new knit version. In a recently published savoir-faire video, the house takes us through the process behind the creation of the new jacket including the making of four prototypes it took in order to create the perfect one. See the full video below. 

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Immersed In the Labyrinth: Dior Haute Couture

23.01.2017 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

The world waited unabashedly for Maria Grazia Chiuri’s first Haute Couture collection for Dior, and it did not disappoint. Drawing inspiration from the motif of the labyrinth, the collection embodied Chiuri’s journey to the heart of Dior’s design story.

It was a collection alive with nature: woodland flowers, moss and  ferns made up the set and informed the collection in equal measure, inspired by Christian Dior’s statement that: “After women, flowers are the most divine of creations. They are so delicate and charming, but they must be used carefully.”

DIOR_HC_SS17_SCENOGRAPHY 5 © Adrien Dirand

Silhouettes referenced the original founder of the house too, with cinched waists imbuing ethereal lace dresses and mysterious midnight velvet gowns with an easy elegance. Powder pinks and blues were married with inky blacks, allowing for the full spectrum of characters to be imagined and rendered in Chiuri’s magnificent modern fairy tale.

Dior Couture_SS17_Look 10

Dior Couture_SS17_Look 16

Dior Couture_SS17_Look 54

 

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Dior

Dior AW16: Sets Appeal

09.03.2016 | Fashion | BY:

Paris Fashion Week is not a low key affair. It always has – and remains to be – where a large handful of historically iconic design houses show their respective wares amidst a flurry of theatrics and architectural grandeur. And one of the most memorable of AW16 was Christian Dior.

The fact that the world still awaits the name of a successor to the now departed Raf Simons was momentarily shelved, as the skill of the exemplary design foundations of the house took centre stage. This is a brand with creative and flair at its core, and although an effective ‘lead singer’ of the big fashion band is still yearned for, Serge Ruffieux and Lucie Meier – who worked in Raf’s former team – have more than proved that it’s not necessary for them to have one in place to be able to produce greatness.

Dior

This season followed on from the success of January’s couture collection, and was yet another show with a strong focus on the key ‘looks’ of the late Mr Dior, with “black silhouettes as crisp as the sheets of white paper on which they spring to life: dense, textured, embroidered and quilted.”

It also featured “hand-painted dévoré velvets, re-coloured jacquards inspired by one of Monsieur Dior’s iconic sketches” as well as, “fragments of colour, embroidered motifs atop prints, a touch of leopard.” It was a collection in which “everything lies in the mix and the compilation,” according to Dior themselves.

Dior

Image by Adrien Dirand for Dior

And the sets? Magnificent. Once again Bureau Batek made made illusion a reality, and used vast mirrors to disorientate in the entrance to the normally so familiar Musee de Louvre. Once you found your way in, it was a journey through spiraling tunnels clad in dulled metallic finishes and burgundy velvet. It’s was both reminiscent – many said it conjured the historic grandeur of a cathedral – and incredibly modern – we suppose, just like the clothes themselves.

Main image taken by Lena C. Emery for Dior

dior.com

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DIOR

Dior Reimagines Couture For SS16

28.01.2016 | Fashion | BY:

Haute couture isn’t something that’s typically thought of as cool. Beautiful? Yes. Incredibly intricate, ostentatiously unique and mind-blowingly accomplished? Yes. Rebellious? Absolutely. But cool? No. Well, turns out, someone didn’t give the seven-strong team behind Christian Dior‘s spring summer 2016 collection that memo.

What was presented to a predictably packed audience in Paris’s Musée Rodin on Monday was as deliciously unkempt as the bookshelves lining the Seine. Despite the departure of Raf Simons – the undoubtedly refreshing and oft-lauded face of modernity at the historic French house – this was a collection of magnificently wearable, works of art.

Starchy silhouettes were compromised with flashes of bare shoulder – not in a calculated ‘cut-out’ manner – but as if the model had been gesticulating too wildly and somehow shrugged one side of her previously ladylike look off. Because of course Dior is ladylike. Even when it’s sending punkish sheer tops layered underneath prom dresses down the catwalk, the hair remains in a perfect side part, and the cheeks delicately rouged.

DIOR

Christian Dior Haute Couture SS16

In addition to this, hemlines of voluminous silk dresses cascaded messily from beneath embroidered, tobacco-hued wool coats that were just that bit too short, and the breast-plate of stiff tops exploded provocatively in a fanning wave of ruffles around models’ décolletage.

There is no denying that haute couture as a whole, has become infinitely more realistic in its approach to cut and day-to-day use in recent years. Even the handful of super rich clients who buy this stuff have some kind of ‘cost per wear’ gauge. But – that doesn’t mean it’s become boring. Far from it. In fact, the true inventiveness now is in the attitude conveyed by the most beautiful of clothes. As Christian Dior themselves echoed in their statement this week:

“The spontaneous, relaxed Parisienne of today is Couture by nature, down to the smallest details, but modern in spirit. It’s her attitude, her way of moving, her way of simply being.”

DIOR

Christian Dior Haute Couture SS16

dior.com

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The PFW Lookback Part I

08.10.2012 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

The S/S 13 season was eventful to say the least: Twitter feuds between Hedi Slimane and NY Times fashion critic Cathy Horn, Ready To Wear debuts at the houses of Saint Laurent and Dior, and between it all, some wonderfully accomplished collections.

Twin looks back at which collections made us say je l’adore.

Chanel

Presented in a setting of solar panels and wind farms instead of a crystal landscape, Karl Lagerfeld went a bit more down to earth this S/S 13 season. A-lines, bolero jackets and rounded silhouettes with floral embroidery  in every colour under the sun were topped off with oversized pearl necklaces. Like its staging, the collection was the perfect mix of technological linearity and natural materials and forms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christian Dior

Raf Simons may have already shown us his haute couture offerings for the house of Dior, but nonetheless there was still a great anticipation for what the Belgian designer would bring to the Ready To Wear table. The answer? Expert tailoring mixed with modern femininity. Pleated office attire was given metallic panels, sequined evening gowns a sheer overlay and nude shift dresses an exposed neon lining. With so much love for detail, it’s hard not to give Simons a congratulatory thumbs up for his efforts.

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comme des Garcons

In fabrics of toile and velvet, Rei Kawakubo crushed, sculpted and draped an intriguingly beautiful collection. Save for a flash of royal purple or fire red, the collection kept mostly to CDG signature colours of black and white. While the surrealist-style crowns designed in collaboration with artist Graham Hudson and linear white make-up may have given the models an otherworldly look, there was still something beautifully fragile about the body — and person — in these clothes. As with all things Kawakubo, this collection is definitely worth a second look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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First Resort

02.07.2012 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

From secondary season to fully-fledged collections in their own right, this past year’s fashion cycle has all been about the rise of resort. Offering the ideal transition from autumn to summer, as well as designers an opportunity to prolong their retail exposure, the season has once and for all stepped out of its main collection sister’s shadow.

From Chloé’s countryside romanticism to Givenchy’s downtown gypsy look, Twin chooses our favourite not-so-in-between collections of the season…

Alexander Wang

Wang’s aesthetic has increasingly matured since his prolific rise and this collection was a clear departure from those tank top and knit beanie days.

The designer still kept his downtown cool thanks to streamlined sleeveless puffa jackets and midriff-baring vests in patent and croc leather, but by offsetting them with front-pleated, pegged trousers and refined chiffon dresses, the looks went from everyday casual to New Yorker chic.

 

Celine

Every season, through the slightest tweak of a silhouette or colour alteration, Phoebe Philo manages to conjure up a new line of fashion must-haves.

Progressing from her sportswear influenced A/W 12 showing, this collection was a combination of relaxed silhouettes such as wide-legged trousers and leather jumper/jogger combos, but added that typical Celine elegance through geometric prints, clean lines and a largely black and white-colour palette.

 

Chloé

Chloé designer Clare Waight Keller headed to the country for this collection, but those expecting Little House On The Prairie type looks are in for a big surprise.

Instead Keller took the best inspirations of rural life – think pale skye blue and neutrals, ethnic prints and crochet patterns – and infused it into the brand’s laid back romantic DNA, resulting in lightweight harem trousers, smock dresses,  waist-tie tops and scallop-edged shorts made for a summer in the city.

 

Christian Dior

An appropriate mix of historical references and contemporary elegance, these looks found their strength in the house of Dior’s archetypal look.

Classical waist-cinching shift dresses and tops with peplum hems were paired with cropped straight leg trousers and romantic knife-pleated chiffon skirts, whilst leather accents gave the whole collection a strikingly modern feel.

 

Givenchy

Presented in a street style photography approach, Riccardo Tisci fused strong tailoring with paisley and geometric prints for an urban bohemian look.

Leather and motif-printed capes stood alongside more relaxed silhouettes of harem trousers and silk shift dresses for a look that was truly Givenchy, but as always, has something new to bring to the table.

 

Proenza Schouler

Round-shouldered tweed jackets and capes, bleached slim cut jeans, low-slung flares, satin tuxedo trousers and laser cut neon cocktail dresses – this season Proenza Schouler offered the complete wardrobe for their brand’s cosmopolite cool audience.

With colours ranging from cream to ultramarine to pistachio, this was a collection that could go from day to endless night.

 

Stella McCartney

McCartney’s multifarious resort showing included sheer overlay pleated skirts, fringe tassel lace dresses, golden brocade print cap sleeve and short as well as bubblegum pink blazer and neon orange kick flare trousers combos.

Accessorised with sunshine yellow pointed toe platform pumps and holographic clutches, this collection made us that bit more excited for the summer.

 

 

Theyskens’ Theory

How to turn the essentials into something intriguing appeared to be the question on Olivier Theyskens’ mind this season. His answer ticked all the right boxes: oversized blazers were given an oil painting slick appearance thanks to silver velvet and watercolour-esque prints, shimmering lurex T-shirts and jumpers gained nighttime appeal and the tried but true boyfriend jean was fitted with just the right amount of slouch. Who said basic had to be boring?

 

 

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