Maria Grazia Chiuri wants us to heal. The Creative Director reflected on how to navigate a world struggling with COVID-19 and explored how fashion fits into our new reality. “We are going through a period of crisis that is radically transforming behaviors, habits and rituals,” the brand said in its statement. “Our minds have changed, as have our bodily attitudes. The concept of fashion as we know it has been called into question.”
And so her show was an experience, kind of like a religious experience. In Dior Cathedral, which was actually a tent erected in the Tuileries Garden, Chiuri populated the scene with various female artists. Not only was the stained glass scenography reanalyzed through photographic collages created by Lucia Marcucci, but the clothes themselves were made with the work of the Italian avant-garde in mind, cut into the form of patchwork scarves and contrasting textiles. An all-female chamber choir echoed through the hall, filling the space with both beautiful harmonies and painful, panicked vocal tracks, reflecting the hardships women face. Chiuri also noted that Susan Sontag and Virginia Woolf were dominant in her designs.
The runway was a lesson in high relaxation: airy chiffon dresses floated across the runway, plunging necklines to reveal lacy bras and relaxed chambray and tie-dye kimonos inspired by Shibori, a reinterpretation of the Dior silhouettes created. for Japan in 1957, were dotted everywhere. The figures moved away from the body, never restricting. The show showed a woman with luxurious leisure.
While Chiuri again staged a full show that ignited fantasies of a Mediterranean summer, she never really answered the question about the concept of fashion in today’s setting. We suspect he’s open to analysis, but if anyone needed a reminder who was still in the midst of a global pandemic, look to his front row: Dior-clad celebrities attended both in person and listening from the comfort of their own home. The show also aired on TikTok. It’s still 2020, after all.
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