Yesterday in Paris, Raf Simons held his SS16 show for Christian Dior, with a collection that blended romance, futurism, and nods to the past. Here’s what you might have missed:
When you’re Rihanna, it’s not hard to ensure all eyes are on you. But just to make sure, the Dior Secret Garden campaign star made her entrance at the show in an oversized pink cape, paired with some latex couture boots. Her Dior ads earlier this year (where she slunk around the Palace of Versailles after dark) made her the house’s first ever black rep – and her relationship with Dior seems set to continue.
THE SET WAS ELABORATELY CONSTRUCTED FROM FLOWERS
300,000 of them in fact, according to the New York Times. Dior built a 59ft meadow-like mound in the Cour Carré outside the Louvre, under the eye of set designer Alexandre de Betak. Inside the space was another hill covered in delphiniums from which the models emerged, and lights that looked like giant flower stalks with spotlights for petals. The showspace was reminiscent of the first one created for Simons’ haute couture debut at Dior, where he filled a Paris house with thousands of flowers, floor to ceiling.
RAF SIMONS’ MUSE SOFIA MECHETNER OPENED THE SHOW
Sofia Mechetner at Dior SS16Photography Chloé Le Drezen
Back in July at couture, 14-year-old Israeli model Sofie Mechetner made her runway debut after being spotted by Simons himself in a shop and hired as an in house model for Dior – her rags-to-riches story gaining much press attention. This season, the 5’11” blonde opened the show in a pale white two piece with a scalloped hem and pink collar necklace.
THE COLLECTION MADE REFERENCE TO THE HOUSE’S HERITAGE
Julia Nobis at Dior SS16Photography Chloé Le Drezen
The SS16 accessories were feminine with a hint of the fetishistic – shoes buckled at the ankles and Victoriana ribbon collars and scarves were tied around necks. Perhaps the best show detail was the charms that hung from necklaces: the numbers ‘47’ and ‘1947’, references to when Christian Dior first showed his groundbreaking New Look debut, and ‘8’, for the 8th of October 1946, the day the house was born. 8 is a meaningful number for Dior – its inclusion was a further nod to the name of that first collection (En Huit) and the 8th arrondissement of Paris, where the brand has its HQ.
SIMONS WORE STERLING RUBY FOR HIS BOW
Raf Simons at Dior SS16Photography Chloé Le Drezen
Appearing for the finale in one of his own shirts created in collaboration with friend and artist Sterling Ruby, Simons blew a kiss to the audience – and almost blended in with the purple flowers of his set. He worked with the artist in his first ever collection for the house, blowing up his paintings and transfering them to fabric to use on couture gowns.
 at Dior SS16)
