Show Notes: Dior Spring Summer 2024
Creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri pays homage to women rebels across the ages.
When: Sept 26
Where: The usual Dior mega cube-esque structure that's set in the middle of Paris' Tuileries Garden. This season, the hot pink and yellow artwork of Italian artist Elena Bellantoni wrapped around the space, flashing slogans along the walls such as "“No-body is yours; No-body is perfect,”" and "Liberation of bodies is not commercial liberalism.”
What: It's been seven years since Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri showed her first collection for the house, and throughout it all, she's never wavered in her belief in support other women artists and creatives. This season continues in that vein, with Chiuri furthering her exploration of the relationship between femininity and feminism - she is convinced that fashion has, more than ever, "a responsibility to help women realise their worth and express their differences", according to the press release.
The takeaway: In a time where women's rights globally are regressing instead of progressing (see the destructive overturning of Roe v. Wade for instance), Chiuri's insistence on paying earnest homage to women rebels who have challenged the masculine system is admirable.
For Spring Summer 2024, a key heroine is the witch, which Chiuri sees as "custodians of the mother-goddess" instead of the usual villains they're typically portrayed as. This translated into a more gauze-y collection - see the opening look of a wispy chiffon and lace confection that was paired with inky lips for instance. Elsewhere, more casual offerings like jeans and shorts came with the appearance of being singed - probably a nod (if obvious) to the fact that "witches" used to be burned at the stake.
Chiuri likens the collection's colour palette of sooty blacks, ecru and pale gold to "ash, chamomile and love potions", while paganistic symbols like the moon and stars, fantastical animals and medicinal herbs appeared as prints and as part of the embroidery - she's evidently in a romantic, medieval mood.
But it's all been updated for the contemporary sorceresses. See the terrifically chic crisp shirts that can be worn to bare a nonchalant shoulder, or the relaxed proportions of the Bar suit - presumably so that the women warriors of today can go on about her job with ease.
The things we're eyeing: The wispy, cobwebby dresses (looks 1 and 5); the "singed" denim pieces (looks 51 and 52); the ultra-chic asymmetrical shirts paired with carpenter-style jeans or wide-leg pants (look 66 and 12); the laced-up gladiator-style flats that came with almost every look.
The looks: