RUNWAY REPORT.....Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week: Dior Couture Spring/Summer 2017

Christian Dior Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2017

WHAT: Christian Dior Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2017. First Dior Couture collection from new Creative Direction Maria Grazia Chiuri.

MY TAKE: The show--when viewed via the YouTube collection video (at end of this blog) was quite hurried and honestly, not impacting. The models walked so fast that there was no way of appreciating the incredible workmanship of the garments--mostly all done by hand spending thousands of hours of work, each gown costing in the $100,000 range...but none of that came across through the videos quick cuts. It was pretty sad, at least for this Haute Couture fashion aficionado.

In terms of the collection and designs, they were certainly gorgeous (only after seeing the individual photos) and plenty of gowns we will definitely see at the upcoming Academy Awards, but if there was a theme (besides butterflies, dragonflies in a Couture Moss Garden) it was "Don't Rock the Dior Boat"; same old/same old. No shockers, no real change of direction in terms of the Dior of old. If Raf Simons was looking to modernize the House, Chiuri is looking to go back to the Dior Era of late 40s, with lots of references to the Dior codes like the Bar Suit of 1947 and famed Junon gown from 1949. You could see hints of the angelic style that Chiuri brought to Valentino with such success, and I presume that we will see more and more of that style as she continues forward with the House of Dior.

TRENDS: Ballgowns, nipped-in waists, caped jackets, wide culottes

COLORS: Pinks, lilacs, gold, black