Paris Fashion Week: First Dior show without Raf Simons mirrors a new woman

For its first show since designer Raf Simons announced his departure, Dior took its audience into a mirrored venue to unveil a couture collection for contemporary women, always in a rush but with pride and style, quoting chief executive Sidney Toledano. The spring 2016 couture collection was put together by the brands in-house team, Swiss designers Serge Ruffieux and Lucie Meier, and was unveiled in a structure specially designed for the show installed in the garden of the Rodin Museum, with mirrors on the ceiling and walls.

The show began with shoulder-baring designs and soon evolved into outfits made of contrasting cuts and textures, rich in embroidery and seen on tops and skirts, as well as transparent chiffon dresses. Diors trademark bar jacket was given a masculine look while coat versions showed off the shoulders. Presenting a total of 52 outfits, models were seen walking unusually fast on the catwalk, mirroring the life of the modern-day Parisian, always in a rush, but still moving with pride and style.

We are a luxury house, a quality house, but we are also a fashion house. So we have to give each time a new energy, some sharpness, a new shape. Today we saw, in line with the big Dior silhouette, an even more feminine woman, a bit in a rush, because they are more and more in a rush. They move faster, but they move with pride and style, chief executive Sidney Toledano said.

The maison has yet to announce a successor to Simons, who left after three years to develop his own label, and Toledano offered no hint of who it may be. Dior is a permanently moving house, its probably because of mister Dior and the destiny of this house. There has never been a standstill, its a permanently moving train and from one designer to the other, we can even see some acceleration. So I am pretty confident about the future and we will see how choices are made, but always as in a moving train, he said.

From Frances Chanel to Italys Versace, many top designers showcase their luxury couture creations at Paris Fashion Week, presenting some of their priciest womenswear offerings to target some of the worlds wealthiest women.