Hong Kong Welcomes Spring with Dior Haute Couture Show

Spring arrived in style at the unprecedented capital of fashion in the Far East, Hong Kong with the staging of Dior Haute Couture spring/summer 2014 collection. 

The collection, which was presented in Paris last January, was flown into the city of Fragrant Harbour on April 9, 2014.

The one night only show saw privileged fashionistas from all over Asia; regional fashion editors and journalists as well as celebrities of international stardom such as actress and model Laetitia Casta, Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, Hong Kong actress Carina Lau, Elizabeth von Guttman and Gwei Lun-Mei were there to witness the haute couture collection first hand. Also present at the event was Sidney Toledano, Chief Executive of Christian Dior.

Gathering inside a venue designed to reflect the mythical molded walls of Dior’s legendary 30 Avenue Montaigne – the most iconic address in Avenue Montaigne, guests were treated to videos of Christian Dior drawings, the atelier at work and secrets of the house’s unique savoir-faire.

As seats were filled, the curtain was unveiled, revealing the breathtaking milieu of the Hong Kong Island that was richly saturated in bright lights. For the spring/summer haute couture collection, Raf Simons drew his references from movement. 

In an interview with Style.com, he mentioned that the late Monsieur Christian Dior is a fan of movement in his creations.

“And I was wondering what would have happened if he’d been in business twenty or thirty years longer when the sixties happened; when there was a literal movement in society,” he added.

Thus said, the pieces seemed to reflect movement with strong emphasis on lightness, be it the material used and the volume. 

Gone are the dramatic, volume-filled and painstaking assembling as what Dior former creative head John Galliano has used to favour; in are modern silhouetted and easy-to-wear looks that are more akin to prêt-a-porter instead of haute couture. 

Perhaps due to his renowned approach of simplicity in design such as clean lines with a touch Maison Dior design DNA such as a big black bow at the front of an all white ensemble with eyelet details above the hemline.  

Movement aside, cutworks is the key theme of the collection, with outfits are either being slashed or winkled open to form a lattice that veiled the female form below. 

Nuances of the fifties were prevalent and married with swooping curves and columns – an allusion to the work of Valentine Schlegel, a little-known ceramist from the era who graduated to making architectural suggestions with biomorphic plaster jobs.
  

While monotonous colours dominate the collection’s working palette, Simons add in a splash of brightness in forms of orange-hued polka dots against whitewash milieu, hints of pastel and classic floral prints. 

Liberal applications of eyelets and appliqués within the collection provide exciting sensory experience to the wearer.    

The show ended with models making their last round of appearance followed by a loud applause from the approving crowd.

Dior Haute Couture spring/summer 2014 collection is available on special order basis. For more details, contact your nearest Dior store or log on to www.dior.com.

*Photos courtesy of Dior

Dior - G28 Indulge floor, Starhill Gallery, 181 Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur 55100 Kuala Lumpur