The Void at Dior

There is still a void at Dior.

Eleven months after the sacking of a disgraced John Galliano, LMVH, the luxury retail conglomerate which backs Dior, has not appointed his successor. The team of skilled craftsmen and women who took the traditional bow in place of Galliano at the last couture show are without a leader. And it shows.

That Dior, an iconic haute couture house, remains headless is a desperate sign for this industry which, only a decade ago, was believed to be in inextricable decline. In such a climate, it is somewhat understandable that Bill Gaytten, the acting head designer at Dior, (think fashion equivalent of a supply teacher) did not take too many risks in only his second solo effort for the house.

Gaytten’s take on sheer, Spring 2012

A Galliano design from A/W 2009

Rather, Gaytten mined the archives for a collection which exemplified Christian Dior’s revolutionary ‘New Look’ of 1947: peplum sleeves, nipped-in waists and petticoated skirts flounced along the catwalk in an array of greys. Yet even the edgier looks, such as the sheer shirts and skirts, only evoked Galliano’s A/W 09 collection which featured highly tailored jackets worn with only slips and suspenders underneath. The setting, in the salles of the original Dior store on Avenue Montainge, was a clear call to the house’s heyday.

Fashion is certainly no stranger to retroism, yet couture houses are increasingly looking to diversify. Versace unveiled a collection of just 15 looks which is clearly intended for a younger couture customer than the usual closed circle of wealthy wives and widows. The high octane glamour of cocktail dresses and bodices were emphasised by a sculpted ponytail and exaggerated smoky eye. This could only have come from Donatella and shows how far couture has moved on from ball gowns and debutantes.

The couture house which shows no signs of strain is, unsurprisingly, Chanel. Ahead of its couture show this week, the house revealed that 2011 saw its sales reach a record high. Evidently boosted by the iconic statuses of products such as Chanel No5 and the 2.55 handbag, this financial security means Karl Largerfeld can explore any creative whim he likes. Such stability also allows Largerfeld to employ an atelier full of seamstresses, skilled and experienced enough to construct any creation from a rough sketch by Kaiser Karl.  As this most recent collection demonstrated, he is capable of referencing the old, such as Coco’s penchant for pockets, yet incorporating the new, as seen in the heavy embellishments and the models’ quiffs. In contrast to Dior, the setting was pure futurism: a scale model of a private jet constructed inside Paris’ Grand Palais.

Only Karl: The purpose built interior of a plane which provided the runway for Chanel’s couture show.

Certainly, attempts at modernising couture are not always successful (where to begin with Jean Paul Gaultier’s disastrous homage to Amy Winehouse), yet LMVH must not choose a safe option.

With the onslaught of ‘wacky’ female pop stars (led by Gaga) engaged with increasing hilarity in outdoing one another’s sartorial flair, avant-garde fashion has rarely been so prominently in the public eye. The template for how to wear couture in a modern way must be Daphne Guinness. Although from a traditional couture background (aristocrat, ex-wife of a billionaire), Guinness wears astounding pieces of couture by McQueen and Givenchy with heelless shoes. She does not take looks wholesale from a catwalk, but sees the pieces individually, ready to be styled in her very idiosyncratic way. This approach has, in recent years especially, won her great admiration. And what will surely interest LMVH more is that she is a paying customer.

Daphne Guinness takes a stroll

This then is the war of couture: creativity versus commerce.

It would seem though, that the public and the fashion world alike have an appetite for a designer committed to upholding the revolutionary nature of Dior. Let’s hope that whenever LMVH do make their choice, they choose creativity.