Ensemble

Raf Simons, as creative director at Dior, infused the house’s iconic designs with a modern aesthetic. The nipped-in waist and full hip of this ensemble echo the 1947 “New Look” silhouette advanced by the house’s founder. The cut of the coat and waistcoat, along with the elaborate multicolored embroidery, make direct reference to the lavish suits worn at the court of Louis XVI (1754–1793) and imitated throughout Europe, a nod to Paris’s enduring status as a fashion capital. The overt historicism is reconciled with a modern design vocabulary through the introduction of a contemporary slim- cut trouser and blouse.