Dark magic

Dior Homme FW14
By James West | 18 January 2014
Photography Harry Carr

Sometimes fashion shows feel a bit like a doughy mess, disparate ideas badly massaged together, flaky and not quite whole. And then sometimes shows just snap. Each look comes out like a firecracker, building, twisting and redefining your perception of the collection so far until the whole is not just a sum of the parts, but a living, breathing statement in itself.

This season Dior Homme was 100% the latter. In a fashion season which has regrettably seen some houses stumble blindly backwards towards homogenous commercialism, Dior Homme, arguably one of the biggest global names in menswear, took the bull by the horns and struck gold.

There were guts and a striding confidence from designer Kris Van Assche. Normally sticking to a single colour palette and (expertly) toying with nuances and subtle progressions on a theme, this season – although predominantly dark – conjured a masterfully curated palette. The Dior Homme man is powerful, in command and dramatic with statement coats, tieless tie-pinned collars and traces of fur, especially impressive as the lining of a sweeping overcoat. The famous Dior lily of the valley (laid on seats to welcome guests) appeared too, as motifs emblazoned on jackets and shirts.

A clear and concise vision of the fearless, expertly dressed man you always wanted to be. The best part? Men will buy it.

GALLERYBackstage images from Dior Homme FW14

GALLERYCatwalk images from Dior Homme FW14





BACKSTAGE