PFW: structured volume at Christian Dior

What’s a fashion week without a brocade spat? Raf Simons went Louis XVI with his Spring-Summer 2015 collection at Dior on Friday. You wouldn’t have known it from the off, with the first sleek minimalist black and white designs only hinting at what was to come with a sort of 21st-century brocade version of spats sitting above chic pumps. 

Then suddenly structured skirts ballooned out downwards from nipped in waists and were worn with embroidered high boots. The audience was then treated to highwayman leather coats, frock coat-inspired shapes in lush satins, and a modernist twist on roccoco lace. There were also some sporty pieces including plenty of shorts and a bomber jacket.  

This season eyelet and grommets have been all over the runway, and Simons didn’t miss the trend, with belt closures looping leather through metal rings. Bags came in a structured A-shape with sturdy leather and metal-link chain straps, and, as this was Dior, the classic Bar suit shape was also there, with rows of buttons sitting on the top of models’ hips.