Dior Haute Couture Spring 2012: Back to Its Roots

PARIS–An X-ray of Dior savoir faire was what was promised for the spring couture collection, presented yesterday afternoon to small audience on the second floor of the house’s Avenue Montaigne headquarters.

“Dior is a house defined by its ateliers, craftsmanship, heritage and elegance,” the line sheets read. But also in Dior’s blueprint is the tremendous legacy set forth by its founder. Remember that the New Look in 1947 was not about craftsmanship alone: It was about how fashion and the kind of clothes designers make can change women’s lives.

Dior’s heritage isn’t just about the artistry of craft but also about that kind of life-changing fashion–fashion so directional that it conveyed yearnings for beauty and liberation from the mundane trappings of everyday life. Craft is all well and good, but some direction is needed now, too.