Dior and I: Raf Simons’ Debuts

A much-acclaimed documentary on Raf Simons’ beginnings as Creative Director of Christian Dior women’s wear, Dior and I perfectly captures a defining moment during one of the most intensive creative periods in the life of the famed fashion house. In conjunction with the film’s French release, we look at the backstory behind  this innovative initiative.

Raf Simons was named Creative Director of Christian Dior women’s wear in April 2012. He had just eight weeks to design and produce Dior’s next haute couture collection. Director François Cheng was asked to document the powerful encounter between a designer and an iconic fashion house. For eight weeks, he embarked on a complete immersion into the heart of Dior ateliers, fascinated by the fantastic creative process of the designer and the fashion house.

Both moving and intimate, Dior and I is above all the story of a collective adventure involving all Dior teams, from the 60 seamstresses in the Dior workshops to designer Raf Simons, all devoted to bringing alive the soul of one of the world’s most prestigious fashion houses with fresh creative momentum.

The film depicts the contributions made by each person in constructing a new language, revealing moments of doubt as well as conviviality and humor. Never intrusive, François Cheng’s camera captures the strong personalities, emotion, passion and unwavering mutual support that constitute the inimitable force of the House of Dior.

Widely acclaimed by the international press, Dior and I premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in 2014. Following screenings at major festivals, the film has progressively been released in theaters around the world. It has been shown on French screens since July 8, 2015.