Raf Simons presented the Christian Dior Spring 2014 Haute Couture Collection, a veritable ode to femininity in the gardens of the Musée Rodin. A subtle tribute inspired by the many faces of the flower-woman of today: that of insouciance, in an evening dress with flower-embroidered tennis shoes; that of seduction, as the curves of the female body are unveiled under the finest silk; that of triumphant sensuality, on a top representing a woman dominating the world . That, especially, of extreme delicacy, which is reflected in the finesse of the embroideries, in the complexity of the layering or the grace of a pleat. Just as for Christian Dior in his time, the haute couture is for Raf Simons a very special way to respond to each woman in her uniqueness: “I wanted to focus on the idea of intimacy in couture, the emotional connection between the clients, the salons and the very idea of the woman herself, ” explains the house’s creative director.

Only Dior haute couture, through the unique savoir-faire of its petites mains, could translate the subtlety of this modern femininity, in exactly the same way that only a hand-sculpted decor would be a suitable setting to accommodate these delicate flower-women. Each look is therefore the embodiment of the maxim Christian Dior recounted in his autobiography: “Real luxury demands the best materials and the best craftsmanship.”

And it’s precisely through the legacy of the founding couturier, continuously reinterpreted by Raf Simons, that this new femininity finds its affirmation. And so, in the openwork that blossoms on dresses throughout the collection, one finds the embroidered silk petals of Junon , a sumptuous evening gown from fall-winter 1949, while the golden embroideries of the dress Passage, from fall-winter 1951-1952, seem to have inspired the play of layering in a dress on which gold, pink and mauve half-moon sequins appear through the openings of a fine black fabric. Raf Simons also revisits the iconic Bar  suit, with an openwork version that reveals the body of the woman wearing it with nothing underneath, a gesture both daringly modern and elegant, a gesture that’s unmistakably Dior.