RAF SIMONS should stop trying to be Christian Dior or John Galliano and just be himself, so says legendary fashion commentator Colin McDowell. Following the fashion world’s ringing endorsement of Raf Simons’ debut for Dior at Couture Week last Monday, McDowell has added his words of caution to the tale, urging Simons to break out of the traditional Dior
"He has his own philosophy. He understands modernity," McDowell said of Simons. "He must capitalise on these things, and on the position of working for one of the greatest labels in the world, rich enough to indulge him in any way. He is in the unique position of being able to finally modernise couture and break out of the endlessly atavistic circles it has spun for so long. But he will not do so if he spends his time simply giving his own spin to the thinking of Christian Dior and John Galliano. He must look into his heart and mind, remember what makes him unique and forget all about the Dior archive.
It has been endlessly examined and re-examined and generally done to death already.Raf Simons has a strongly individual aesthetic. He has no need to lean on the past." McDowell also complained that the staging of the Dior Couture show – as well as its star-studded front row – didn’t befit the new designer’s brave new era. "For his first Dior outing, the show space was overwhelmed with an exceedingly ostentatious display of flowers that literally covered the walls of the venue,
" McDowell writes for the Business of Fashion. "What’s more, an unusually large number of designers – Marc Jacobs, Alber Elbaz, Donatella Versace, Christopher Kane, Pierre Cardin, Diane von Furstenberg, Riccardo Tisci, Olivier Theyskens and Azzedine Alaïa – had been called in to fill the front rows. But the over the top choreography was unnecessary. Raf Simons is a very good designer and Dior should have the confidence to stand by him without cheerleaders or fancy frills. They were part of the Galliano era, but that is gone and they have no place in Dior by Raf Simons."-Vogue