Dior Homme Hiver 2016
When the orchestral version of Koudlam's 'The Landsc Apes' began playing, I was expecting the black curtains, in front of me, to drop dramatically. But instead, the curtains rose to uncover a line of musicians dressed in tuxedos and white sneakers. The attire of the musicians and the conversion of Koudlam's original track were both metaphors for the collection: mixing the old with the new, taking the past to make the present. And the present Dior Homme, being a contemporary figure, is described to be both 'romantic and realistic'.
Van Assche opened the collection with his original inspiration of 'sartorial with hyper formality. Evening tail suits and dinner suits were adorned with badges where traditional buttonhole flowers are pressed and encased in these plastic badges; being yet another example of Van Asshe modernizing for the 21st century man. As the collection progressed, the original track fused with the live orchestra, where hints of neon return to the catwalk in the form of prints on coats and trousers. Although the colorful sticker invitation suggested more colour than was seen, this hiver collection has proven itself to be much more wearable (should you dare to accessorize with the badges).
Everyone has high expectations for Dior, but these expectations are met somehow every time. By comparing previous collections such as Dior Homme Été 2015, the Esprit Dior Tokyo and, most recently, the Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2015, Dior has abandoned the idea of a normal, traditional catwalk. Even though the runway for this current collection has been the most traditional of them all, who would have imagined a surprise performance from a small orchestra? After editing my pictures, I realized that all models had either a bow tie or a tie on. While emphasizing formality before the contemporary side, certain looks were dressed down with denim and leather shearling jackets; examples where Van Asshe attempts to be decorative and practical, incorporating his whole idea of modernization to form this 'techno-sartorial' collection.
“This man has a real life. He moves, he has that energy and the technical aspect of the collection gives him that freedom. He does not look back - He is really confident in the future.”
To be continued…#tbc
