Dior went all the way to Shanghai to present its Spring 2013 Haute Couture collection. The brand may have already set up shop in China for a previous runway, but this time was a first for Raf Simons, their new creative director. Needless to say, this delicious, magical, couture soirée was highly anticipated.
This small piece of French luxury was put together on the fifth floor of The House of Roosevelt building, at the heart of Shanghai’s maze of skyscrapers. A Dior-esque microcosm came to life with Napoleon III chairs, grey walls with white moldings, touched off by 18th-century console tables. The salons of Dior’s original Paris boutique were thus recreated to perfection. The underlying concept of quality and the very essence of Parisian Haute Couture were presented to the Chinese spectators.
The brand is forging ties with China as per its vision of an eternal and universal beauty, transcending eras and continents. This idea was previously upheld by John Galliano, who already showed a strong affinity for Asian culture. This year, his successor Raf Simons is undertaking a discourse on blooming flowers. The “female flower”, so dear to Christian Dior, is an allegory, from the first bud to its eventual dazzling bloom, for natural beauty perfected by expert craftsmanship. This poetic, moving, prestigious, and intercultural message invites us to admire Parisian luxury, incarnated ever since 1947 by Monsieur Dior.
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