Belladonna delphiniums display perfectly apt for Raf Simons’ collection

A massive vertical display of thousands of Belladonna delphiniums lined the entrance to the Dior show space yesterday in the Louvre.

Famed for their colour, these flowers are as beautiful as they are strong, an apt metaphor for the collection that artistic director Raf Simons sent out yesterday for spring. “I wanted to express an idea of femininity, fragility and sensitivity without sacrificing strength and impact”, he said.

What was described as “lingerie” with masculine tailoring was in effect a white contoured top and shorts in cotton voile anchored by a new version of the Bar (sic) a shapely black jacket pleated at the rear and worn with jewelled chokers. That traditional French mix of “flou” (softness) and severity was evident throughout, in a green suede jacket over the same “lingerie” ensemble or in the many silk parkas embossed with embroidery or transformed in horizontal stripes.

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A model presents a creation by Raf Simons as part of his collection. Photograph: Benoit Tessier/Reuters

Colours were soft and the knitwear — cropped cable knits in colours like honey, navy or black and white that kept flyaway bias cut dresses in check – was notable. “I wanted purity, precision and ease”, said Simons and that’s what he delivered in this lovely collection though the pale puffy geometric cut sleeves on some dresses looked offbeat rather than modern.

Pleating was used in appealing ways at Dior, but that master of the technique Issey Miyake introduced a new type for the spring show in the Tuileries Gardens. Called “baked stretch”, these pleats that curve and bounce are made from baked fabric and have dizzying optical effects when worn especially when painted with different colours.

Models actually smiled, not surprising when their dresses bounced around them playfully in zig zag colours. Elsewhere, his tropical Hawaiian style summery dresses in fringed raffia were actually made from ultra thin plant fibres. Miyake who has always been known for innovative clothing is to be the subject of a major exhibition next March in Tokyo which will focus on the designer’s 45 year career from 1970 to the present.

Botanical delights aside, at Loewe where JW Anderson has taken the reigns of the Spanish leather house, the designer wrapped his models in silver or see through cellophane trousers, heavy mirror embroidered sweaters and coats overlaid with crystal.

It made for a high octane, shiny but challenging show.