Dior and I- How Raf Simons Maintained Christian Dior’s Legacy
Wed. 3 April ‘24 19:07
In the film Dior and I, the former Creative Director of Dior, Raf Simons, maintained Christian Dior's legacy while remaining true to his vision by studying Dior's original sketches and inventing a unique "modern Dior lady." In 2012, Raf Simons chose to work closely with his "right-hand" Pieter Mulier at Dior because he worked with Pieter for over a decade in the fashion industry.
Pieter is a talented multilingual individual. He has vast experience working for numerous fashion houses. Pieter demonstrates his language skills by conversing with a colleague in Italian, conversing with the Dior couture team in French, and switching to English for the international audience. Raf could be more fluent in French, so he relies on Pieter to translate for him and to advocate his thoughts to the Dior team.
Raf and Pieter are Belgian and were not born into the fashion industry. Raf was the creative director at Jil Sander for several years before becoming the creative director at Christian Dior. Raf did not like how everyone thought his creative vision was "minimalistic" because he did not consider his designs minimalistic.
He wanted to prove that he could take on the big task of creating the Summer collection for Dior in 8 weeks, in 2012. Raf was frustrated with the haute couture team when they couldn't make the garments in time for the private showing. The issue was resolved after the team eventually created the garments in time before the runway show. The Dior team had to balance creating garments for clients and the new collection.
Within Raf’s first Dior runway show (2012 S/S), the red ball gown epitomizes Christian Dior's "feminine lady" and Raf Simons' "modern Dior lady." There is a short ball gown dress with a floral blue embroidered (pink base) top and pink embroidered bottom (half-calf with nipped waist), which combines Raf Simons' creative vision while paying homage to Christian Dior's "redefined lady-like ball gown."
Raf Simons chose garments to hug the woman's figure and create a modern simplicity with clean lines. He did an amazing job at encapsulating Christian Dior's vision while maintaining his modern ideas. Raf Simons departed Dior in 2015 to focus on his other interests, such as his fashion line Raf Simons, and pursuits outside of his work.
Maria Grazia Chiuri is the successor to Raf Simons at the Dior house. She joined Dior as the new artistic director in 2016, overseeing the new direction for Dior womenswear.
