EMPOWERMENT is a word that evokes images of suffragettes in white or, more recently, hundreds of thousands of people marching in protest. In the hands of Maria Grazia Chiuri in her latest ready-to-wear collection for Christian Dior at Paris Fashion Week, empowerment takes on a more reflective tone–but nonetheless is a consummately beautiful concept armed with defiant Athena-like strength.
Building on the “We Should all be Feminists” t-shirt introduced in her SS17 collection last fall, the Dior AW17 collection feels a paradox: it feels militaristic but peaceful and dreamy. Not surprisingly, the entire collection is a feminist study in blue, important for a brand that has presented femininity for the past seven decades from the male designer point of view from Christian Dior himself to Yves Saint Laurent, John Galliano and Raf Simons. Chiuri’s feminist statement is bold, beautiful and market savvy, speaking to feminists of all genders, all backgrounds, and all beliefs.’
Classic New Look pieces like the Bar jacket, first introduced in 1947, appear in three different versions, smartly reinvented through the addition of a hood. Models strutted down the runway wearing what will no doubt be the accessory of the fall: leather berets. The berets, created by Stephen Jones, accompanied a large collection that successfully mixed streetwear with Dior’s signature evening wear.
Two simple words: Dior denim. Overalls and 70s-style carpenter jeans with the Dior selvedge seams paired with structured jackets, cross-body bags and pointy heels.
Hard and soft mixed in a feminine but meaningful way, pairing structured workwear on the top with fairytale tulle skirts. While blue dominated the collection, there were blacks and even the occasional gold and white.
This was a savvy collection designed to appeal to Millennial buyers, but one that has wider appeal. For the designer who helped introduce the Rock Stud to the Valentino shoe line, Chiuri’s feminism is fashion-forward but with a hard edge of female warrior.
It will be exciting to see how Dior continues to grow under Chiuri’s creative leadership.
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