Gigantic silver spheres mirroring a Magritte-style cloud path was the setting of Raf Simons‘ second ready-to-wear collection for the house of Dior that was presented last Friday in Paris. For Autumn-Winter Raf Simons focuses on the notion of memory and how it shapes the nature of design at the house of Dior, how this works for himself and how this once worked for Christian Dior.
“This collection is more connected to passions we share” says Raf Simons. “Like a real interest in art – Christian Dior started his career as a gallerist and represented both Dali and Giacometti early on. The connection to certain periods of time is also significant, his obsession with the Belle Epoque in his case, the Mid-Century modern in mine. here the connections made are important, the very idea of them rather than what they are made to; the attraction and obsession is the significant part.”
Simons collaborated with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in the collection. The early hand drawn work from the 1950s of the artist Andy Warhol is found as a recurring motif of the mid-century style printed or embroidered on the clothing and accessories. “For me Warhol made so much sense,” says Simons of this collaboration. “I was interested in the delicacy and sensitivity in the early work he did, I was drawn to that graphic style naturally in this collection. It was that notion of hand work and personal signature that fitted throughout.”
