"Dior and I" film review

 

 

As a teenager the photo below was on my bedroom wall. Oh that jacket! That form! That full skirt! That silhouette! I thought the look was the epitome of style. It’s Christian Dior’s now classic ”New Look” from 1947. And yes, it’s iconic.

1947 New Look by Dior

 

Now imagine being Raf Simons. In 2012, as the new creative director at the House of Dior, he has the weight of the brand, the man and history on his shoulders - and he knows it. In eight weeks he must design and present the haute couture range that will silence critics and cement his place within the world of Christian Dior. Raf is shy, but knows his own mind. He is inspired. But there are ghosts and whispers from the past haunting him – will he get lost in the fog of expectation?

Raf Simons looking at an original Dior gown

The documentary “Dior and I”, written, directed and produced by Federic Tcheng, cleverly juxtaposes extracts of Christian Dior’s memoirs (in the form of voice over) and old footage of the designer himself, with Raf Simons, the new artistic director struggling to come to terms with the future of the House of Dior and to create a show in half the usual time frame. The effect is mesmerising. At times, the film is a feel good story and at other times it is almost a thriller. And yes, it’s about frocks but the stakes are high.

Christian Dior 1957 cover of Time Magazine

The doubts that plague Simons seem to make him at times closer to Dior than he realises. Simon’s general reserve make any emotional reaction climactic and moving. As an audience we are with him for the ride and the film maker very much helps us understand the ambition inherent in this designer, the huge machine that is the House of Dior, the challenges of putting on a fashion show and the weight of history and importance of Christian Dior to the world of fashion.

 

But it’s more than that. Like Dorothy in the wizard in Oz, we get to pull back the curtain and see some of the levers and pulleys that create the magic of fashion – and these are the ateliers, the men and women who construct the garments. We see them as ordinary people, workers, craftspeople of admirable skill and work ethic, who bring the dream to reality. We see the relationship they have to their work place, to the brand, to each other, to the hierarchy and to Christian Dior himself, with some of the ateliers having worked there for decades.

As someone interested in garment construction and craft it was enthralling to see this process. It’s also interesting to see the reality behind this fashion icon. To see the work room, the dress dummies, the sewing machines. It’s the House of Dior but I noticed an ugly plastic tablecloth in the tea room. It made them all seem so much more likeable somehow and more within the realms of the world I inhabit!

 

Fashion is pretty facile I know. Fashion is about marketing. Fashion can be about exploitation. And I don’t shy away from this.  But fashion can also be art. This film shows the creative process and teamwork in haute couture and as such, it is very inspirational. It is an intimate film about great ambition and as such, was riveting to watch. What Raf Simons and his team set out to achieve is huge.

Christian Dior measuring a hem line - creepy!

These days I have a problem with Dior’s New look. The look was a reaction to the freedom women had experienced in the war, where, due to fabric rations and practicality, the dresses were shorter and where women worked and drove war trucks and made ammunition. This look was positively retrospective and drove women back to the 19^th century – corsets and crinolines for goodness sake! Long dresses are not practical for factory work and driving trucks. As a feminist, I bristle.

The documentary “Dior and I” was fascinating and gorgeous and is as well pieced together and constructed as one of Dior’s evening frocks. It’s really about the people behind the frocks. About emotion. About relationships. About striving for excellence. Go and see the film if you have any interest in fashion and sewing. but more, go and see it  if you have an interest in people. Oh. And go and see it for the flowers. Oh my gosh! The flowers!

 

 

Linky post

A friend and I who email each other most days, recently realised our communication had deteriorated into a series of links. Interesting links. But still. Just links. I must write him a letter.

Sometimes you can be overwhelmed by all the interesting "stuff" out there. Twitter gives you a constant stream - no more of a fast flowing river with rapids - of information, causes and ideas. Then there are all you bloggers, mainstream (main river?) media, websites and tweets. This week I have read articles on everything from feminist parenting to the 10 most defining performances in genre television.
Am I interested in too many things? Yes. Probably.

So I'm going to share some links. Because bombarding you with more "stuff" will help me feel like I've offloaded some of the burden of the constant flow of information. And then I'm going to move away from the computer and not come back until tomorrow.

So. If you are feeling down about the future? 

read this: 21 kids super kids that will save the world.

This is 13-year old inventor Richard Turere - he used broken Led flashlights to create a lighting system that tricked lions into thinking humans are patrolling the area which keeps the lions away and protects his family and livestock.

Do you doodle? Why even the presidents of the United states doodle!

(but if your doodles say "missiles! missiles! missiles" as JFK's did during the Cuban crisis then you probably have a few problems.)

If you like reading books (that are made of paper), read this gorgeous letter from Harper Lee, author of "to Kill A Mockingbird". "
Some things should happen on soft pages, not cold metal".

If you want to get lost in the wonderful weird world of knitting and crochet creations that blow your mind go here to http://knithacker.com/  Pages and pages of crazy yarn work. I seem to get stuck on the knitted food. there is something so weird about woolen meat! You can submit your own creations too. I might submit my brain!

Over at Jill in a Box was this great blogtoberfest post on available -ism which gets you to thinking....

And if you  don't want to think so much any more and just look at some amazing beaded high fashion from Balmain's Autumn/Winter 2012 collection, then go here.
And what gets me about this stuff is that a group of exceptionally skilled crafts women behind the scenes have done all this work - but the designer gets the limelight.


ps. This is a great article about the plight of asylum seekers coming to Australia by Waleed Aly

okay. Move away from the computer....

blanket approval

Yes! It is freezing! Are you walking around wrapped in a blanket?

Years ago – in fact it must be about 10 years ago now - I made this skirt. The crochet blanket was such a lovely small crochet and I loved the colours so I wanted to wear it. Here’s what I did.

Keeping the finished edge as my hem, I simply measured it to my waist, cut it to the length I wanted, then wrapped it around me. I cut the width after measuring where it sat well around my hips, keeping in mind it has a bit of stretch (for the thighs!). I then sewed up the back seam on the machine.

This is how that turned out – with a v like hem at the back. I left an opening at the back for getting in and out then I attached a really wide bias binding to the top edge and opening to be a facing.

I could have put a zip in the back but I used these fancy scroll buttons instead.

For more crochet fashion inspiration...

Romance Was Born 2009 collection and Cate Blanchet wearing it on a wintry night in Melbourne...

           Paul Smith's 2011 Autumn/Winter collection.

Perhaps they got inspiration from my Aunty Margaret's 2008 twin collection!!

Now I am embarking on these pants I found in a pattern book that belonged to my Grandma. I've made one square...now only a 101 to go! Might be less - I have very short legs...

So if you can't get out of your blanket - just sew yourself into it!

posted by Julianne sister outlaw