Dior well and truly commanded attention today by way of its palatial Blenheim Palace Resort 2017 extravaganza (guests were treated to a festive evening at The Lady Dior Pub, a one-night-only pop-up bar in London and then exported to the palace via a completely Dior-ified posh train ride through the Oxfordshire countryside – casual!). The clothes were, as expected, classic Dior shapes steeped in English eccentricity but the newness was delivered in the pragmatic ways in which the storied fashion house turned user-friendly by way of its accessories.

According to Dior it’s more about function than form this Resort season – bags become actual vessels for carrying-all (zippers abound) and the gold-soled booties combine cool with complete practicality thanks to the low platform heel. But perhaps most unexpected were the myriad ways in which design studio directors Serge Ruffieux and Lucie Meier employed the humble scarf, just not in its traditional neck-adorning purpose.  Ruffieux and Meier used the humble scarf to fasten form-fitting blazers (ensuring the end trails were visibly floating across the lapel), tied narrow, printed versions around wrists or tightly looped thinner silk iterations around the forearm, exaggerating the signature voluminous Dior bell sleeve. So the lesson here? Scarf down the multifaceted uses of this traditional accessory piece. 

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Credit: Getty

 

See all the Dior Resort Runway looks here