PARIS — Guests including Katie Holmes and Kate Bosworth were taken deep inside the inner workings of Christian Dior for the French brand's nostalgic couture display that celebrated the artistry of the atelier.
Actress Kate Bosworth poses during a photocall before the Dior Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2018/2019 fashion collection. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Hundreds of retro busts and mannequins in unfinished-looking white gowns flanked the runway walls — from floor to ceiling — inside Paris' Rodin Museum as designs showcased the pared-down finesse of age-old couture.
Here are some highlights of the fall-winter collections shown Monday.
There was an old-school vibe in the perfumed air of Dior: 1950s' berets, veils and costume jewelry filed by in its Paris show.
The beret at the Dior Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2018/2019 collection. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Thick fabrics reminiscent of post-World War II styles were used evocatively in a midnight blue cape coat and a three-piece ensemble with a fringed spiral-sleeve bolero.
The sheer restraint of the palette of powdery shades against nudes also harked back to a time, before the proliferation of bright colors in the 1960s, where designers still preferred subtle hues.
Dior Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2018/2019 fashion collection at the Rodin museum in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
This season, the program notes said "(designer) Maria Grazia Chiuri goes back to the fundamentals."
It made for a beautifully executed couture collection of 71 looks — but one that seemed to lack energy and avoided any huge creative leaps.
Still, there was plenty of beauty.
Dior Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2018/2019 fashion collection. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
A raspberry double-face silk scuba bustier dress was sewn from just a single piece of fabric.
Chiuri developed silhouettes based on the batwing sleeve from the Bar Jacket — the centerpiece of Dior's iconic 1947 "New Look" that revolutionized post-War fashion.
A model wears a creation for Dior Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2018/2019 fashion collection presented in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)