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“Dior and I” brings the viewer inside the storied world of the Christian Dior fashion house with a privileged, behind-the-scenes look at the creation of Raf Simons’ first haute couture collection as its new artistic director-a true labor of love created by a dedicated group of collaborators. Melding the everyday, pressure-filled components of fashion with mysterious echoes from the iconic brand’s past, the film is also a colorful homage to the seamstresses who serve Simons’ vision.
One would think that Haute Couture would demand a foundation of quality, integrity and a keen vision of fashion-forwardness, and it does. The surprise in this film is the unbridled commitment of the tireless workers who share the vision and understand that the final product represents every human being who touches it and understands the concept from the very beginning.
In this documentary, Director Frédéric Tcheng takes us through the raw emotions behind the fashion empire that was built by Christian Dior and survived a transparent changing of the guard under the capable hands of Raf Simons. Given only eight weeks to create his first collection in 2012, Raf Simons thrust his heart, soul and reputation into transforming an historical era of fashion into a modern-day success. With no prior relationship, the skilled film director and the skilled creative director worked independently to create a cohesive vision that blended with loyalty and commitment from all hands on deck.
With the camera following the good, the bad and the ugly, director Tcheng provided an inescapable and realistic view of the internal process that was a necessary evil in establishing a greater appreciation for raw talent at every dimension. The success of Raf’s transition was won on the shoulders of an already established entity that deserved nothing less than the perfection that Raf demanded from a team that already understood that trust and loyalty from each other was the only way to prove that the House that Dior built would continue its legacy under the capable hands of a new creator with a shared vision.
Now playing at the Angelika Film Center in Dallas and Plano
