Access All Areas: Dior Fall 2015

All (fashion) eyes might be on fashion week but we’re still gushing over Dior’s autumn/winter 2015 collection. Style Director Jade Sprowson presents a 360-degree view of Raf Simons’ acid-bright world, replete with dizzying animal prints and lashings of latex. Step into the glass box…

THE COLLECTION

“I wanted the collection to deal with nature and femininity in a different way,” said Raf Simons, Dior’s auteuresque creative director. “Away from the garden and the flower to something more liberated, darker and more sexual.” Manoeuvring in a new direction from the overtly feminine and floral DNA of the house, Simons has created a fresh take on the Dior girl. This time she isn’t floating through fields of flowers in a trapeze coat. Quite the contrary. Instead she’s prowling the streets of Paris clad in an extreme take on animal prints – think blown-up zebra and tiger stripes and leopard spots in a host of neon shades. She strides in spray-on vinyl boots that follow the sinuous lines of her legs, paired with mini, structured dresses, some looks finished with oversized masculine coats, some simply consisting of the coat itself. “I wanted that feeling of a sensory overload”, Simons adds, “with this animalistic, woman wearing a new kind of camouflage.”

Models are suited, booted and fitted for any last-minute changes

This patchwork Storm Fox and tweed dress – one of the many furs that were hand-coloured – took 21 hours to create

The looks are lined up backstage

THE DETAILS

The talking point of the collection was the Latex legging-boots with transparent, multi-coloured heels worn fiercely with double-breasted overcoats in heavy tweeds and nothing else.

Mesh paillette collars inspired by metal fencing or chain mail

The most-talked about boots, sure to be a street style staple this season

Dior fall perspex heel shoes

THE SET

DIOR FALL 2015 SET

A glass box located in the historic grounds of the Louvre’s Cour Carrée was the stage for Simons’ ready-to-wear Fall 2015 collection. The stark, white-topped box was offset by the brilliant blue skies of Paris, with transparent walls exposing both catwalk and show-goers seated on cubes of white wood that snaked around the runway.

Contrary to past Dior sets where flowers have adorned walls or dripped from metal scaffolding, this scene was conspicuous in its minimalism. Candy pink floors, sharp lines and glass walls gave an air of vulnerability; ironic, given for the past three years Simons has lead a sheltered life within the Parisian fashion house. The show, on March 6, followed the launch of his fly-on-the-wall documentary, Dior & I, an exposé of his first step into the world of Christian Dior Couture. Was there an underlying message in the stripped-back, exposed setting? Was it a metaphorical vehicle for Simons to finally let the world in? Or was it a play on the idea of animals being watched, as models stalked the room wearing animal-print body suits? Perhaps all three.

DIOR FALL 2015 SET

THE FROW

From It-girls to bloggers and Hollywood actresses, the fashion house’s fan club was out in force for the March show, wearing head-to-toe Dior, naturally.