Dior Homme AW14

Initial reaction:

Belgian industrialism softened by romance, as Kris Van Assche draws early Dior codes from the house’s archive – like the delicate Lily of the Valley posies which were left on seats. The invitation came filled with illustrative Lily of the Valley postcards, and the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe quote ‘superstition is the poetry of life, so that it does not injure the poet to be superstitious.’

Romance:

Delicate silver chains rested atop black ties worn with pinstripe suiting, a silver Lily of the Valley brooch pinned above the breast pocket. The stripes then became a fine polka dot that spread over leather briefcase bags and shoes. Lily of the Valley returned printed small all over a suit, and layered busily onto a sweater. Illustrative roses, like those on Charles Rennie Mackintosh furniture, appeared dotted randomly over suits and shirts, before being blown up large onto an oversized pin stripe coat.

Nostalgia:

Nineties khaki parkas with pure white shearling collars, and messed-up centre-parted hair signaled a return to the early days of Dior Homme as we now know it, when directed by Hedi Slimane.

Dior Denim:

Somehow Dior denim has an undercurrent of irony, and here Van Assche did not hold back on workwear references: washed denim waistcoats worn under black leather aviator jackets had square utility patch pockets, as did the black leather clutched the models carried. A prim suit jacket featured a khaki patch pocket on the shoulder, while another was worn with a full khaki utility waistcoat.

Stand out look:

An incredible thick long grey fur coat, matched by a fur lining on a black wool overcoat. A buttery leather coat in golden yellow creased softly over the rolled up weekend denim it was worn with, while a beautiful oversized black wool coat sat atop a denim jacket/shirt/tie combo and clunky monochrome trainers.