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A look back at the fall-winter 2007 haute couture show, where all the house's history was brought to glorious life in the Orangerie of the Château de Versailles ...
With its Bar jackets, Corolle dresses, sweeping bias cuts, bows tied at the neck, brazenly protruding busts, its extravagant volumes, the fashion show to fete sixty years of the house of Dior was an awe-inspiring ode to the founder's creative genius. It's name suggested as much - Le Bal des Artistes - a reference to the man who frequented some of the greatest soirées of his time and who was the close friend of Christian Bérard, Jean Cocteau, Marc Chagall, Colette, and many, many more. "Artistes", too, because among the key looks in the show, those worn by the famed supermodels were drawn from some of the greatest works in the history of art - such as Shalom Harlow and her homage to Michelangelo, Linda Evangelista's couture take on Caravaggio, Stella Tenant sampling El Greco, Amber Valetta channeling Renoir. Taking place in the Orangerie of the Château de Versailles, the show forging a direct link to the pomp and splendor the château incarnates. It was here that, at the instigation of Louis XIV, French luxury first saw the light of day. A luxury of opulence, detail and savoir-faire; a luxury that defined couture, the quintessence of femininity, such as would be seen again in the elegant players of the Belle Epoque period, with their whittled waists, bustles, their rustling gowns and aristocratic allure.
The early 20th century and the image of his mother, in all her refined finery, would prove a catalyst of incomparable importance for Christian Dior's style, and these childhood memories become the impetus for creating, in 1947, almost a half-century later, what posterity would dub the New Look. It's this same compulsion that pulses through this anniversary fashion show. Versailles, the 17th century château; the spirit of the 18th century, Christian Dior's favorite period; the start of the 20th century and his formative years; the end of the war and the Dior revolution; 2007 and this anniversary collection. Uniting all these points on the timeline is a single collection, a singular vision of woman, a single name: Dior. Encompassing theatrical harlequins, Spanish infantas, couture Cupids, Seville widows, the looks weren't just clothes, they were characters. The pleats, the draping, the jaw-dropping embroideries, all conjuring up the spectacular balls of the Ancien Régime, and a sparkling gorgeousness that Versailles hasn't seen since the days of the Sun King.
Welcome to Dior's secret garden
Before the camera lens of Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, the looks from the fall 2012 collection are brought to glorious life. In a deserted Versailles, as if plucked from a fantasy, the model Daria Strokous invites you to follow her on a wondrous path that winds through the Galerie des Glaces, through the palace's endless interconnecting salons, as far as the grand tree-lined walks that sweep through the classic parkland à la française.
Along the way she's joined by fellow models Melissa Stasiuk and Xiao Wen Ju for a dreamlike fashion show where Versailles is transformed into Christian Dior's secret garden, his emblematic château. D'or et Dior.
A look back at the fall-winter 2007 haute couture show, where all the house's history was brought to glorious life in the Orangerie of the Château de Versailles ...
With its Bar jackets, Corolle dresses, sweeping bias cuts, bows tied at the neck, brazenly protruding busts, its extravagant volumes, the fashion show to fete sixty years of the house of Dior was an awe-inspiring ode to the founder's creative genius. It's name suggested as much - Le Bal des Artistes - a reference to the man who frequented some of the greatest soirées of his time and who was the close friend of Christian Bérard, Jean Cocteau, Marc Chagall, Colette, and many, many more. "Artistes", too, because among the key looks in the show, those worn by the famed supermodels were drawn from some of the greatest works in the history of art - such as Shalom Harlow and her homage to Michelangelo, Linda Evangelista's couture take on Caravaggio, Stella Tenant sampling El Greco, Amber Valetta channeling Renoir. Taking place in the Orangerie of the Château de Versailles, the show forging a direct link to the pomp and splendor the château incarnates. It was here that, at the instigation of Louis XIV, French luxury first saw the light of day. A luxury of opulence, detail and savoir-faire; a luxury that defined couture, the quintessence of femininity, such as would be seen again in the elegant players of the Belle Epoque period, with their whittled waists, bustles, their rustling gowns and aristocratic allure.
The early 20th century and the image of his mother, in all her refined finery, would prove a catalyst of incomparable importance for Christian Dior's style, and these childhood memories become the impetus for creating, in 1947, almost a half-century later, what posterity would dub the New Look. It's this same compulsion that pulses through this anniversary fashion show. Versailles, the 17th century château; the spirit of the 18th century, Christian Dior's favorite period; the start of the 20th century and his formative years; the end of the war and the Dior revolution; 2007 and this anniversary collection. Uniting all these points on the timeline is a single collection, a singular vision of woman, a single name: Dior. Encompassing theatrical harlequins, Spanish infantas, couture Cupids, Seville widows, the looks weren't just clothes, they were characters. The pleats, the draping, the jaw-dropping embroideries, all conjuring up the spectacular balls of the Ancien Régime, and a sparkling gorgeousness that Versailles hasn't seen since the days of the Sun King.
Welcome to Dior's secret garden
Before the camera lens of Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, the looks from the fall 2012 collection are brought to glorious life. In a deserted Versailles, as if plucked from a fantasy, the model Daria Strokous invites you to follow her on a wondrous path that winds through the Galerie des Glaces, through the palace's endless interconnecting salons, as far as the grand tree-lined walks that sweep through the classic parkland à la française.
Along the way she's joined by fellow models Melissa Stasiuk and Xiao Wen Ju for a dreamlike fashion show where Versailles is transformed into Christian Dior's secret garden, his emblematic château. D'or et Dior.
Selections by ANDREA JANKE Finest Accessories
Source/Photo Credits: Dior
1 comment:
Chateau Versailles is extravagant beauty in charms. I would love to experience the magic of it's grandeur. Christian Dior couture, is opulent, sophisticated & elegant. It's an artistic collaboration.I love your fabulous editorial, dear Andrea!!
Cheers, Shagun
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