Maria Grazia Chiuri really has nothing to prove. To nobody. But still, her tenure at Dior since she took over from Raf Simons in 2017 has been under the most intense scrutiny. Why? She is the first female designer for the storied Parisian Haute Couture house, she is Italian, she is a feminist, she came on board as more or less an accessories designer and she does not cater to the fashion crowd. None of this has been working in her favor. But she simply works hard, plies her craft and along the way has been doing phenomenal business for Dior’s ready to wear collections ever since she put the famous “We should all be Feminists” slogan T-Shirt on the runway for her first show. She is serious and that has been resonating with clients all over the world. With today’s show she liberated herself from the heavy Dior codes which have been suffocating prior designers and sometimes her early years and opened up a whole new chapter for Dior: Desirable, easy going but very sophisticated. A collection with strong notes of feather light but poignant tailoring, happy coloring and excursions into the world of sports like boxing.
First look
Boxing style
The tailoring?
Chiuri cleverly disguised her modern adventure in a tour de force of feather light black and white tailoring with modern takes on the bar jacket. Worn with white shirts, the skirt and pant suits looked so light and well crafted that they could go straight to the gym. In the past Dior called it the Slim Look.
Modernized bar jacket
Light tailoring
The staging?
One was immediately reminded of Alexander McQueen’s legendary Chess collection with models being part of an elaborate choreography. For the start of the show, all models came out and assumed predetermined positions in the middle of the round set. Then each model moved over to the left to release the first one to do the entire tour and walk the runway. This rhythm created a wonderful flow and tension for the audience.
The staging
The colors?
Generally more beholden to a dark palette, Chiuri showed her color blocking skills with vivid greens, red, orange and raspberry hues in synch with the show’s set.
Vivid colors
The Italian connection?
Chiuri continues to romp through her Italian artist connections for her sets and music. Artist Anna Paparatti considered the spatial geometries of games to come up with her colorful roulette table wheel center piece on which the models stood while Italian electro group Il Quadro di Troisi’s dynamic beats brought a disco atmosphere to the Tuileries show tent.
Set design by Anna Paparatti
