Everything you need to know about what Raf Simons has in store for Dior, you can tell from the shoes. They were a big element of Dior Spring 2013 for many reasons, and luckily the New Look and Ligne-A silhouettes left plenty of room to admire the shoes, whether it was a result of skinny, ankle-length tuxedo pants or short jacket-dresses. Accessories are often useful for distilling a brand’s look down into a single piece, and for a debut like this, there’s plenty to divine.

For fans of Simons, it was exactly the sort of retro-futuristic look that you’d expect (and hope for) from the Belgian minimalist. The shoes have the curves and angles that reference the New Look era, but the materials – holographic snakeskin, mirrored metal in gentle pastels – are anything but retro. The combination is a solid combination of where Dior’s been and where it’s going, which is the exact tone that Simons needed to strike for his first collection with the storied French house.

[Images via Vogue.com]