At first impression, Dior Homme's fall 2006 show, "These Grey Days,” is notable for what is absent. Gone are the drainpipe jeans and cropped outerwear, their usual place taken by Victorian coats, baggy suit pants and silk bow-tie shirts. The change of pace befits the character the work is was based on, David Bowie’s “Thin White Duke.” This character, conceived as Bowie battled addiction in Los Angeles and unveiled on his record “Station to Station,” was described as, at different times, “a mad aristocrat,” “an amoral zombie,” and “an emotionless Aryan superman.” This sullen sense of approaching doom purveys the runway, which was lit by a single burning flame behind the models (quite literally, a waning fire). And though the youthful reverie of SS2006’s “The World Was a Mess but His Hair Was Perfect” and AW2005’s “In The Morning,” what Hedi Slimane released in his place is among the best work he ever managed at Dior Homme, containing a depth and sophistication which called back his initial term of YSL.

This “Deville” tote bag was a staple of Hedi Slimane’s mid-2000s work, yet the tote bag was only released this season. Featured prominently in add campaigns, it is now a rather piece to come by.

Condition: 9/10. No noticeable flaws.

Tagged size: O/S.