Image via Dior and I.
As a student in Oregon, I match my outfits to my rain boots and worship at the alter of Patagonia. I know little about high fashion, or even low fashion if that exists, so watching the Tribeca documentary “Dior and I” was eye opening. This R-rated social and cultural documentary was released in April of 2015 and has since been the subject of both criticism and praise. Directed by Frederic Tcheng, the documentary follows the Dior fashion house through a transitionary phase of artistic directors and their Summer collection fashion show.
The documentary leaves you with personal insight into the Dior fashion house and Christian Dior himself. Dior was quite the rockstar in the fashion world and was said to have led a “bloodless revolution” around 1942 when he brought back a feminine silhouette that was lost to square shoulders and masculine fabrics during war times. He was famous for showcasing women with rounded shoulders, small waists and large skirts inspired by flowers. The weight of his legacy is felt by all, but is especially heavy on the shoulders of the new artistic designer Raf Simons.
The documentary begins saying that Simons is not the obvious choice for hire and that he only has eight weeks to put together a runway show that typically takes four to five months to prepare. They also blatantly pin him as the underdog saying that he is coming from a minimalist menswear line. This is the farthest style from the Christian Dior house, famous for romance and femininity. They don’t explain this situation and they give no reason for his hire. I can only assume that there was off screen drama in the human resources department. From the way he is introduced to staff to the final scene he is an off-putting mix of terrified and the brooding genius archetype. The real stars of the documentary are Florence, the premiere of the dress workshop, and Monique, the premiere of the suit workshop. While Florence is the warm motherly type, keeping the staff in good spirits and flirting with the gay designers, Monique is her character foil, often seen ringing her hands with worry in the corner of the screen. Together they direct and sew every garment of the show and bring to life the sketches they are handed. Their banter and high strung energy keeps the film alive and personal while Simons is stony and unapproachable.
Despite having died in 1957, Dior is very much alive in the Dior fashion house. The documentary is peppered with footage of his past work and his haunting voice is used to retell his legacy. Some of the seamstresses claim to have “known him in a prior life” and all feel his presence when they stay late at night. Unlike most, those employed by the Dior house are comforted by this paranormal activity and are reassured that he continues to check their work each night in the studio. The use of his past words and legacy were over done. One look at Simons panicked face and you can tell that he has unbearably large shoes to fill. The ghostly layered footage and voices become overkill. Vogue described the Dior house as “codified” by it’s past. When initially planning the Summer line, Simons has models walk in the original Dior pieces by Christian Dior and plans to have one dress made shorter to be worn as a top. Is that not cheating? However, the documentary did give me a lasting impression that the Dior house demands respect in the fashion industry.
Image via Calvin Sit (via the gallery).
The fashion world is being criticized for entering a new age of “fast fashion.” Cheaply made clothing that encourages shoppers to buy new clothes multiple times per season all at the expense of expedited foreign labor. Haute couture, “the designing and making of high-quality fashionable clothes by leading fashion houses, especially to order,” has a radically different approach to fashion that may not become mass produced, but deserves respect. They have a show for each season and a distinct collective work. The documentary shows the depth of the creative process. He decides to mimic modernist Sterling Ruby’s paintings (above) in his fabrics and covers every inch of the fashion show in flowers as an homage to Jeff Koons “Flower Puppy.” The painstaking needle work and beading makes his fashion statement anything but fast. He is buying his fabrics custom made from craftsmen in France and works closely with each seamstress. This practice is not new, Dior himself was known to have thread custom dyed and then woven into fabric rather than print a pattern or dye bulk fabric.
On my first day of college in my first class my teacher posed a question, “If a red solo cup does the job, why would we aspire to drink from ornamented crystal glasses?” I think that Simons is making the crystal glass. Sure it would be absurd to wear every day and most people probably can’t even afford to buy it, but that shouldn’t stop us from making it. As human beings we aspire to create something beautiful. Each piece that went down that runway was art, a beautiful creation. It was carefully planned, constructed and embellished to make a statement. I will still wear yoga pants more often than jeans, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have an appreciation for what the Dior house has created. What they produce is closer to “wearable art” than clothing.
Image via Dior and I.