King of Fashion

If you caught the new Dior menswear collection this week, you may not realise how far back its thinking really goes. I have always been fascinated by Paul Poiret, and by how his influence still runs quietly through French — particularly Parisian — couture and tailoring. Poiret wasn’t interested in polishing the rules. He stepped around them. He loosened clothing from the inside out, allowing garments to hang, move and breathe, and in doing so changed how clothes sat on the body.

He also understood, early on, that fashion was more than cut and cloth. In 1911 he launched Parfums de Rosine, the first perfume by a couturier, and presented his clothes through illustrated catalogues drawn by Paul Iribe, showing feeling rather than finish.

This all came before Coco Chanel would later define her own modern codes. When today’s collections ease off structure and let clothes fall more naturally, they’re often circling back to Poiret’s instinct - that good design doesn’t need forcing. Sometimes it’s simply about knowing what to leave out.