{live from the runway} Dior RTW Spring 2013

Simons blew past expectations. In 14 dazzling minutes, he thrust Dior into a place it hasn't been in some time, a place where clothes count as more than glossy foils around which to explode cash-cow accessories and beauty businesses. This collection pulsed with that Holy-Grail fusion of currency and cool.

Throughout, Simons kept the surprises coming: flyaway veilings over lean sheaths, a row of sequined floral buttons down the back of a bodice, a geometric bar of embroidery at the hem of a coatdress. Evening featured thin black sweaters with big skirts in iridescent silk florals and, conversely, shiny “cutoff” ballgowns over black. Either way, a delightful modernist distortion of a classic. Maison Dior is in good hands.

{Source & Images WWD.com}