Nearly three years ago, amidst skepticism and intrigue, Raf Simons became Creative Director of one of the last remaining couture houses in the world. His earlier minimalist work meant he was far from the obvious choice to take the reigns of the opulence and grandeur that is The House of Dior. All reservations vanished with his debut collection, however, as he sent his models walking through a patina’d Parisian mansion dripping in wall-to-ceiling flowers of every variety.
The development of his work was captured and seen for the first time this year in the highly-aniticipated documentary, Dior and I. In one of my favorite cinematic moments of the year, we see Raf cry backstage as he watches his collection blossom in front of his eyes. This moment of unabashed happiness coincides with barely-moving shots of women modeling the new collection to summarize the culmination of his labor of love. -Garrett Flemming
