Just when the publication of a massive tome of his backstage photos suggested Hedi Slimane's love affair with rock couldn't get any more intense, he kicked it into another gear with his new Christian Dior collection. Grunge references came thick and fast, in army-surplus jackets, sleeveless plaid shirts with raw hems, beat-up sneakers, and hip-slung jeans lean enough to make even Joey Ramone feel fat. Slimane's new model army of floppy-haired Bobby Gillespie look-alikes could have been rounded up in the local mosh pit. It all implied Bowie's Berlin might have been supplanted in the designer's affections by Cobain's Seattle. But there was a running subtext of dressy touches that showed Slimane's flair for modern dandyism hasn't wilted: a pleated shirt front here, a bow tie hanging loose there, a pale-aqua evening jacket, another jacket that looked flawless in pink leather. It all came out to a pulsing, moody soundtrack custom made for Slimane by a kindred alt-rock dandy—Beck.
