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    Dior Homme: Realigning Fashion and the Brand

    DownloadFrom: Godfrey Deeny

    2. It took place in the home of Paris’ classiest cavalry regiment, yet the latest Dior Homme collection was inspired by a futurist cinematic view of perfection.

      The film was Gattaca to be precise, and that vision of an ideal future was the theme of this slick and sleek Dior Homme fall 2013 collection.

      In the days of John Galliano at Dior the contrast between the men's and women's collection could be jarring, almost schizophrenic. Though both were successful at retail, it rarely felt like the two lines came from the same house. Now with fellow Belgian Raf Simons on board, Kris Van Assche's determined goal to reinvent the men's suit seems so much more in perfect synch with Simons’ quest to modernize women's wear.

      Dior Homme had a fantastic opening line-up of tightly tailored black suits with zippers instead of buttons and snazzy trench-coats all held together with cool looking silver belt buckles. They were very much in tune with the season's predominant Alpine theme although Van Assche got his ideas from futurist Gattaca. In fact, the belted look was the show's strongest idea and it made the clothes look much sportier than usually. Whether peeping out at the bottom of a blouson or used with four buckles on a caban, it held the show together tightly.

      “Gattaca was all about the pursuit of perfection; building a healthy mind and healthy body, which is sort of what I am trying to do with these collections,” a suitably trim Van Assche said post-show.

      Mainly working with a black and white contrast theme, Kris also showed some strong double-breasted coats in the finale, their bold sense of contrast highlighting their exact cut. If the show was maybe a bit too repetitive in terms of shape, Van Assche is nonetheless getting the best out of the house's famed ateliers. These clothes reeked style, and looked suitably expensive. “Nobody has better quality than Dior Homme. I should know, I wear it all the time,“ said Karl Lagerfeld a Dior Homme client and campaign photographer.

      Still, it was a pity perfection was marred by a banal catwalk error. What began as a pristine runway in white plastic ended as ploughed field as the youthful model’s stumbled along the sticky surface. Gattaca got a little grounded then, but not enough to prevent this being a winning collection and aesthetic vision.