Dior Homme FW 08.09 Paris

[t0m]

[t0m]

[beberthur]

Not sure about this collection (super skinny slacks are ugly imo, and the micro ties look weird), but I can't wait to see it in person.

Anyway, it's (a bit) different from Hedi, which is a good start. And I finally love the Spring Summer collection, so I'll probably end up liking this one as well.

[goldengloves]

[macuser3of5]

Has some potential, I want to see full shots. I also liked a good amount of s/s, so this might work out after all...

[goldengloves]

This is actually better than expected. Although those overly pleated trousers are just clownish.

[goldengloves]

Some more.

[theblinding]

The skinny pants looks really silly on those models, and the CD-logo belt? Too dark and boring, looks like random Versace. Some nice jackets and suits.

[coalessence]

i see some good some bad

better than the last mess...

but yes, those pleated saddle bag type pants are terrible

[goldengloves]

[goldengloves]

[beberthur]

nice fit:

huge ears = next level

[beacons_home]

Not that great. And those "CD" belts must go!

[Dijonnaise]

Quick, I need to go buy some more of Slimane's stuff before these designs hit the store!

[allplay]

This collection would be pereceived entirely different on the right set of models, going off cue just for the sake of doing so seems to be the weak point here. That being said - the ready to wear will hopefully take all of the good things from the show.

[goldengloves]

Luckily I havent been a big Dior Homme fan for a while...this just isn't cutting it.

[Charlie Delta]

I'm sorry but after looking at this a second time all I can say is "This Is BullShit!"

It is all over the place, lots of random references, awful casting, Raf boots and finally skinny dress pants simply have not got enough body of their own (as opposed to jeans).

What a mess!

[beberthur]

(as opposed to jeans)

god only knows how will they look like...

[Andy L]

"terrible"

[mellowbonsai]

heres an interesting interview i read in menswear magazine, gives a bit more perspective on what hes doing with his own line and dior homme:

What makes a man elegant?

It's a certain noblesse, a certain allure, a certain attitude. Of course, clothes help, but they alone are not sufficient. It starts from the inside. It starts with the person. You can put the same clohtes on another guy and they will not at all tell the same story.

Does elegance have a new meaning today?

These days its not so hip to talk about elegance. People talk about heroin chic or rock and roll or sportswear or whatever. For me, it's always been something I'm quite nostolgic about. Making luxury products - what I've been doing at my own company and now even more so at Dior Homme - should really be about [making] the difference, and the difference for me is elegance. It's just an aesthetic choice.

Do you think in today's fashion world, the word "elegant" has a positive connotation?

People tend to think in cages, like elegance is old-fashioned, and cool is rough and unrefined. And for me, that's not at all the point. That's the whole exercise and that's te whole challenge - to make elegance up to date, and to give it something new and fresh. That's what I'm trying to do at Dior Homme and what I'm trying to do at my own company.

Let's talk about Dior Homme. How are you introduction your own point of view and your own ideas of elegance within the context of Dior?

I started out by asking myself, "What is the house of Dior to the world?" The answer is [that it is] one of the biggest couture houses. And what do I think men's wear should be in the house? It should be a masculine translation of a couture house. The whole work and reflection on the collection is that it's not going to look old-fashioned and it's not going to look like something on a wedding cake. It's about trying to make it new and elegant by basically using the tools I have here, which is the in-house atelier - something quite unique. I really want to push things forward without it turning into something old-fashioned.

Can you be cool and elegant?

Of course, for me they are not opposite. You can be elegant in sneakers or in shoes. It's the way you wear it and the way you combine it. When you talk about elegance, people raise their eyebrows. They either think about Savile Row or they think about these Milanese guys - too-tan, muscular guys with too-big ties and too-big shoulders. It's not about that, it's such a challange to redefine elegance, and I think today Dior HOmme is the best place to try to pick up that challange.

Your first collection for Dior Homme arrives in stores shortly. What kind of reaction are you expecting for loyal Dior customers?

There's a whole misunderstanding about what I did with the first collection. I really toned down the presentation to white shirts and suits. The presentation was real, real statement and the statement for me was: There are 23 outfits and 23 white shirts. Those shirts were like blank pages. The concept was to turn the page and start something fresh. But, of course, I also made leather jackets and jeans and t-shirts and knitwear. We have tons of sportswear. There are pieces I really, really like and that I'm going to wear. Even in the case of sportswear and the leather jackets, we tried to make them with very beautiful details, and they basically have the same precision work on them as the shirts and the jackets.

Do you plan to continue in the same vein, and build on this idea of a couture house in a masculine sense?

It's definitely what I'm trying to do. The next collection will be much more radical. The clothes I made for the presentation in June are not something I would have a show with. That's also why I decided not to do a show. That was step one, and now there's step two. THere will obviously be more sportswear pieces and more of everything. We've been having a lot of fun in the atelier - we've been doing quite crazy stuff. I'm trying to use the tools I have here and explore all the possibilities, but I'm also trying to make it really into a fashion product. I'm trying to push forward, trying to push elegance forward.

How many white shirts do you own?

I hve no idea ... a lot! I kind of see them as an everyday basis on which to start getting dressed. They are the perfect item to dress up or down. Even with jeans and sneakers they give you a minimum of chic for about any occasion. Rolled up sleeves dress you down, while a simple tie dresses you up.

Why is the time right for a return to elegance?

I've been thinking for four years that it was the moment, only I wasn't screaming as loud when I was doing it at my company. I never really related to heroin chic. I never related to 14-year-old kids representing men's wear. I'm totally aware we live in a sportswear generation. I'm not at all blind to that. I'm wearing sneakers, jeans. I can wear whatever. But I find it my responsibility - even more so than before - to present an alternative. And I think a big house is supposedto inspire young people. It's not supposed to take all its inspiration from them.

How do you reconcile your affinity for the past with what's going on today?

I've been working a lot on that within my company, this whole nostalgic thing. It's kind of being respectful of the knowledge we acquired as a general idea in fashion. When you're giong to be an architect you have to study Asian architecture. You need to know what's been done in the past to be able to go further. And that's what I've been doing at my own company for four years. I've really enjoyed it. Of course, you need to look at three-piece suits, and, of course, you need to look at all those old tailored jackets, because that's where today's clothes come from. You need to look at the past to make a step forward. Now, for my next season, I'm not looking back in my own collection and I'm not looking back in the Dior Homme collection either. I'm really thinking about these things and pushing them forward.

You travel often to South America. What draws you to the culture and the people?

The tango wasn't born by accident in Argentina - it's all about attitude. I can notice an Argentine in the middle of a thousand boys. It's the first thing you see - it's born in the them. It's a way of walking. In Europe, people tend to watch their feet when they're walking down the street, and in South America they just have this whole attitude of pushing their shoulders back and having a straight back. That's what it's all about.

[bakla]

It's "International Male."

[alterion]

"dull" pathetic shilloette, nothing interesting really to me

[mellowbonsai]

i think what bothers me the most about this collection is the black on black on black theme... no creativity

[beberthur]

well, SS 08 looked ugly in the presentation, but in store, it's all about the details, the garments, and it's a really good collection after all. I guess it's gonna be the same for this one. Or at least I hope so.

The main problem of this runway show is that the models aren't skinny enough to pull it off (or maybe he wants to show how it's gonna look on the average Dior customer's body....). And yes, the CD belts have to go.

But definitely, this collection is not BAD.

[Andy L]

Seems to me that he is trying to re-produce "luster" collection but fails deliberately.

[goldengloves]

well, SS 08 looked ugly in the presentation, but in store, it's all about the details, the garments, and it's a really good collection after all. I guess it's gonna be the same for this one. Or at least I hope so.

The main problem of this runway show is that the models aren't skinny enough to pull it off (or maybe he wants to show how it's gonna look on the average Dior customer's body....). And yes, the CD belts have to go.

But definitely, this collection is not BAD.

This is all based on opinion of course.

Myself, I think the price of Dior Homme is too high for the quality of the clothing and that's for Hedi's designs as well. I think a big stock of the company was the meaning behind it and without Hedi, I don't quite see why kids will keep starving themselves and saving lunch money for jeans when these looks obviously don't evoke the same feeling as it once did.

This is a completely different direction for Dior; More grown up. Which I don't think is going to bode well for the label as older men most likely aren't going to be interested in a company that their teenager was once into.

If KVA was smart, he would have tried to stick as close to Hedi's aesthetic as possible. Obviously, from looking at his own line and this seasons' Dior collection, he doesn't have a problem switching creative gears.

[jcotteri]

only one item strikes me so far and that is the first leather jacket worn by one of the black models. The rest is rather boring (skinny trousers), overdone (ie pleats). But i guess over all not bad.

[lufc_girl]

it's hit and miss for me... more misses than hits... still it's better than last season... but what do I know I'm a girl...

[joey_formal]

Looks very poorly thought out. I think Karl would like the collars on many of those button ups. It just looks very uninspired and dull. Several of the looks are very awkward.

[ProfMonnitoff]

fails deliberately? i wish