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]
