If there’s one thing we’re certain about, it’s definitely Creative Director Raf Simons’s love affair with fresh flowers. From his debut Fall 2012 Haute Couture show, to his Spring/Summer 14 and Fall/Winter 14 shows, he constantly transforms the Dior show space into floral wonderlands. This season was no exception, as the Spring/Summer 16 venue was literally a mountain of fresh delphiniums in various shades of purple.

For Simons’s Spring/Summer 16 collection for Dior, he took inspiration from “the South of France – rainbows and simple things” with “a bit of Victoriana: something of that film Picnic at Hanging Rock, with a slight sexual undertone of darkness” because he “didn’t want to embellish”. And because of that, there were scalloped-edged dresses and tops, some of which with the high-low hemline, cut short in front, and long and the back. And then there were shorts, and also micro pleat skirts from which loose-fitting parkas extended into, transforming it into a parka-dress hybrid. The Victorian vibe that he was talking about was evident in the floral chokers that the models wore, each with a large jewel on them with a metal tag. However, the “sexual undertone” which Simons describes hardly comes through, because with the sheer organza fabrics, mostly pastel colour palette, and cropped sweaters with voluminous sleeves, the collection was instead a fashionably demure, but yet elegant one.

No Lady Diors graced the runway this season, and instead, the only familiar bag was the Diorama, which, apart from the exotic-skinned version that came with an invisible and seamless clasp, Simons made a slight adjustment to the clasp on the other Dioramas by giving it a circular push-button clasp bearing the original grey-and-white CD logo from the days of Monsieur Dior. There were also a couple of new silhouettes this season: Convertible totes where you could either opt for the sides folded in for a less rectangular look (think the Panarea bag), and horizontal barrel-shaped bags bearing the oversized Cannage motif, and a more structured tote with covered circular bits that look like hidden magnetic closures often found on a bag’s interior. Though I’m not a huge fan of the creased metallic silver and amber leather, I really wouldn’t mind the barrel bags!

Images via Vogue Runway