Since this is the first recession many of us are going through – every day I’m more and more amazed by how fashion just is not the same. We see it with the assortments at stores, the red carpet, and now couture! There was one bright spot among the dismal and too separate-y Paris couture week – the always inspiring John Galliano for Dior. The thing about couture – is that it’s obviously a loss leader, the amount of couture pieces Dior will sell in a season probably total 5 – and for good reason, couture is supposed to be Avante-Garde and one of a kind. Why else would you pay upwards of 20k for a dress? That’s what Dior did – an inherent costumer, he presented a collection that was not only true to the Dior likeness (the New Look), but he made it swoon-worthy with intricate texture, voluminous skirting, perfectly tailored tops & a heavy Dutch influence. It was like stepping into 300 year old oil paintings at the Met – you really did feel like you were in a dream, which was the exact thing Galliano was aiming to achieve.

“There’s a credit crunch, not a creative crunch. Of course, everyone is being more careful with their discretionary purchases. I am. But it’s our job to make people dream, and to provide the value in quality, cut, and imagination.”

View the complete collection on Style.com