Dior doesn’t seem to be in any rush to find a creative director. They have yet to name a replacement for Raf Simons, but today the French house presented another collection from the in-house design team led by Serge Ruffieux and Lucie Meier. The Dior Cruise 2017 show started off with a bang last night, as the event kicked off with a party held at the historic Audley Pub, nicknamed The Lady Dior pub for the evening. Revamped for the event, the interior was redone in a Dior theme down to the last detail: even the pint glasses were engraved with the CD logo with The Lady Dior, written below.
This morning, guests—which included Emma Roberts, Bella Hadid and Kate Beckinsale—rode the train, christened the Dior Express, from Mayfair London to the Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire where the show was held. With a two-day celebration in England, the collection was practically expected to have a British touch, and the design team did not disappoint. Inspired by style icons like Edith Sitwell, the lineup was fun and eccentric with heavy prints (cheekily layered over each other), posh silhouettes and architectural, but very comfortable looking pieces. It was clearly not a Simons collection, but it didn’t feel as disconnected as previous lines; it had a clear look and distinct feel of its own.
While the collection was certainly worth celebrating, the two-day fanfare was not dedicated entirely to the new Cruise 2017 collection, but also the new store on New Bond Street designed by architect Peter Marino, an accessories collaboration with sculptor Marc Quinn and the appointment of Hadid as the new face of Dior Beauty.
