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The stars simply adore Dior
Laura Craik30.09.08
It was a case of chalk meeting cheese at the Christian Dior show in Paris. John Galliano's front row rarely disappoints, but rarely has the designer attracted two such different female guests - or sat them next to each other.
Wearing a grey trenchcoat, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, actress Emma Watson took her pew next to a far more fruitily dressed guest in a sexy Dior corset dress: Katy Perry, singer of hit single I Kissed A Girl.
Happily for Emma's parents, Perry refrained from kissing 18-year-old Watson and merely had a friendly chat with her instead.
As one of the most successful brands in the mighty LVMH stable, Christian Dior has less cause than most to be worried about the credit crunch and its potential impact on sales. Yet the collection Galliano sent out was far safer, and more commercial, than his normally ebullient vision.
On the surface, it followed current trends rather than setting new ones, as evidenced by the raft of black leggings and strappy chiffon tops that are the current uniform of every twentysomething on a big night out. But if the styling was mainstream, the clothes were anything but, made from ultra-luxurious fabrics.
Snakeskin was used to great effect, such as on a shiny black python bustier, teamed with a black chiffon knife-pleat skirt. There was a tribal influence to the collection, evident in the touches of python, the draped suede halter tops and shells and bead studding on hems. Even the models' hair was crimped and moulded into neat little doumbeks, the tribal drums with origins in North Africa.
In contrast to the heaviness of the skins, there were light chiffon dresses aplenty, in rainbow colours. Fitted at the waist and with short, flippy skirts, these were festooned with frills, ruching and fringing, and came with girlish straps or halternecks.
For evening, elegant floorlength gowns were more muted in colour - mushroom, cream and black - and came with long chiffon accordion pleated skirts that went sheer as the models walked, giving an eyeful of the knickers underneath. A good look for Ms Perry, but one that the Harry Potter franchise is no doubt hoping Ms Watson will avoid.
