Dior And I
Last night Peter and I went to see the latest fashion documentary, Dior And I, which takes its audience into the legendary House of Christian Dior, as the torch of this iconic label is passed to Belgian designer Raf Simons. The film follows Mr. Simons, his right hand man Pieter Mulier, and the Dior seamstresses as well as dozens of other people that make up the DNA of Dior.
Bottom Line: Two thumbs up! This film artfully shows us a side of the fashion industry that is emotional, human, passionate, and supremely artistic. I couldn't help but admire and respect Mr. Simons, not only for his creative process, but also for his caring and humble demeanor towards Mr. Dior and the people who have continued his tradition for decades. The director of the film, Frederic Tcheng, also shot the hit documentary Valentino: The Last Emperor and co-directed one of my favorite documentaries, Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel :-)
Thoughts: I was captivated by the amount of innovation, passion, and pure effort and thought that is involved in the process of creating a single haute couture garment. The number of people that it takes to even actualize an entire haute couture collection, not to mention the way in which those labored and artistic works of art are shown, was nothing less than fascinating and inspiring. Every single person involved leaves their own personal touch on each stitch, seam, and bead. Watching them create these haute couture garments was visual poetry, like a Brahms Symphony in visual form. There is something so beautiful about a group of people working, creating, and imagining together for a show that will last no longer than 15 minutes. One particular seamstress spoke of the sadness that she feels after the show is over, "you must let go of the garment that you've been working on for 6 months and there's sadness in the end of that adventure and process."
We watch as Raf Simons is introduced to the heart and soul of Dior, the seamstresses, many of which have been working for Dior for 20-40 years. I think my favorite part of the film was getting a peek into the lives of those that you never hear of, the people whose names you'll never know, but without them Dior could not exist.
Raf Simons drew his inspiration from artist Ruby Sterling Photo Credit
It was endearing to see Raf Simons so emotional and fragile as he carries the weight of one of the most famous fashion houses in history on his shoulders, with the utmost grace and respect. Often times we think people in powerful and prestigious positions are confident, calm, sometimes arrogant, and emotionless or dictatorial. With Mr. Simons this is not the case, he reveals a man who is at times nervous, and really in awe of Christian Dior the man and legacy he was entrusted to steer into the future while retaining the tradition and original designs from the 1950's. Talk about pressure. He had 8 weeks as opposed to the usual 6-8 months to create his very first haute couture collection.
During the model casting we see a young woman (seen below) who embodies all that Miss Dior represents, her face is innocent and beautiful, yet when she walks for Raf, there's a bit of wobble in her step. I love how he decides to give her a chance even though she's not perfect. Backstage, as she stands and waits to walk out we find out that this is her first show ever.
I've personally never owned anything from Dior, but I can tell you that I would proudly wear this label knowing that someone like Raf Simons is behind it. He's not a snooty "nose up in the air" type, he is all about the artistry of the design and THAT is what I respect and love. To me that is the very best way that he could honor the legacy of Christian Dior.
Fun Fact: We also learn that if you spend 350,000 euro a season on Dior couture, the head seamstress will fly anywhere in the world if a garment is not fitting you perfectly. Even if they're days away from a couture show, the client always comes first. Makes sense, how else will they fund walls made of orchids?Watch the Paris fashion show below:
