Interim studio design teams, like the one leading Dior until the brand decides on a replacement following Raf Simons’ departure, are in a precarious position. They’re charged with keeping the house running and keeping customers interested, but they can’t do anything too audacious or interesting, lest costumers get irritated when a new creative director arrives and the slate is wiped clean. For Dior Fall 2016, the studio team did probably as well as they could.
Accessories are a particularly tough spot for these teams; launching a new bag requires planning and marketing that spans seasons and eats up budgets, and that’s simply not feasible for a bag that might not be kept around very long once someone with a new vision arrives. Customers demand newness, though, so re-embellishing the existing designs is often not quite enough. To solve that problem, Dior’s studio team turned the fan-favorite Lady Dior into an east/west version of itself, complete with a thick, short shoulder strap that makes the whole thing mimic the proportion of a Fendi Baguette, as improbable as that sounds.
There were also some bags not based on the Dior classic, and they seemed to be inspired by the bags you’d find in a woman’s suitcase; in particular, folding vanity cases and vintage-feeling, frame-closed pouches for sunglasses. The handbags based on the fold-up cosmetics carriers were shown open so the audience got the full effect of the bag’s interior, complete with a wallet compartment in a contrasting color and leather. If these completely new bags will be produced and for how long is anybody’s guess, so if you like them, I’d call you local boutique ASAP.
[Photos via Vogue Runway]
Those are some gorgeous bags! 🙂
I’m not a fan of the lady Dior that looks like someone cut off the top part, how are you supposed to keep your stuff in it? It look like an extra long clutch, only it’s bulkier and has long straps. Let’s keep the lady Dior sacred.
Underwhelmed. Lady Dior is lovely in its classic form; this isn’t an improvement IMHO.
If I remember it right, Diorrisimo came out between Galliano and Simon, too, and that’s a great bag. The interim can do great things, too. This is quite underwhelm. I wonder where is that guy.
Have to see in person. Proportions of the squat Lady Dior seem odd.
That folding bag/wallet thingy is weird…
Not loving this concept. The bag looks like a tarted-up shoebox with handles on it. That said, some of the colors (particularly in suede) and patterns for the Stubby Lady are beautiful — would like to see those available on the real Lady Dior.
I save 16/28, but the others oh my Gosh. I would not buy this brand and I do not understand their being on the market (still)
This looks like the Chanel Cerf tote. I love the green suede in slide 11. The color is beautiful. I also liked the tall kiss lock bags. They remind me of my grandmother’s cigarette holder from the ’80s.
Blech!
Let the battle of ‘who can pick up her phone from the bag’ begin! (No.19) *gosh..i need a longer arm
these are some beautiful bags, nothing new or innovative but beautiful regardless
the rectangular shape of the lady dior is fun and quirky but the bag that opens up is simply atrocious