(Paris) Loose mid-length skirts, marked waists, floral prints, gloves and heels: the Dior woman draws her strength from an ultra-feminine 1950s wardrobe infused with a punk spirit, for the collection presented as part of the Semaine de la fashion in Paris on Tuesday.
“These years are very important for the house created in 1947. I also wanted to make a collection inspired by Paris because we have more of an idea of what happened in America in the 1950s”, declared to the AFP the Italian designer of Dior’s women’s collections, Maria Grazia Chiuri.
It was at this time that Christian Dior invented the famous silhouette called New Look, for a post-war woman symbolized by fitted jackets with rounded shoulders on loose skirts below the knees.
But it was more the women who wore this fashion that interested Maria Grazia Chiuri in the context of the “intellectual fervor” of the time, after obtaining the right to vote and the publication of “The Second Sex” by Simone de Beauvoir.
Independent and punk
After the haute couture collection celebrating Joséphine Baker in January, the ready-to-wear collection is inspired by three clients of the house: the couturier’s sister, Catherine Dior, resistant, florist, businesswoman and who refused to marry , the muse of the existentialists Juliette Gréco and the popular “tough guy” singer Edith Piaf.
“In addition to being very elegant, they had a bit of a punk attitude,” says Maria Grazia Chiuri.
During the parade, the models evolved to the sounds of I regret nothing in the sinuous scenography of a giant flower designed by the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos. Entitled “Valkyrie Miss Dior”, it evoked the spirit of Catherine Dior, “a strong and sensitive woman”, explained the artist.
“Contrary to the idea that we have of a romantic and fragile Miss Dior, in reality, she is a very strong and independent woman who makes very important choices in her life”, underlines Maria Grazia Chiuri.
These three muses with very different profiles “give a completely different idea of Paris in the 1950s”.
Innovative waffle
For fall-winter 2023, this rebellious and counter-current femininity will be expressed through the choice of innovative materials to make the line less rigid and the floral motifs reinterpreted in the marl texture that erases the contours of the body.
Black dresses and skirts are made of haute couture “duchess” fabric, with stainless steel threads that create an embossed and crinkled effect.
“This waffle totally eliminates the idea of the New Look which is rigid and creates something that adapts to each body and allows a much softer and more personal reinterpretation of the 1950s”, says Maria Grazia Chiuri.
Houndstooth jackets have a removable waistcoat and are worn differently depending on the climate and the circumstance.
Feminist heel?
The heel imposes itself in the shape of a comma on platform shoes with a pointed toe. They are worn with high socks that reveal a little bare leg.
PHOTO GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
The heel imposes itself in the shape of a comma on platform shoes with a pointed toe.
An evolution for the Italian designer who previously found the heel anti-feminist.
She introduced it gradually from the collection dedicated to Catherine de Medici, who was short and had to wear heels to impose her authority.
“Today, there is a lot more freedom and it is no longer necessary to wear heels” to impose oneself in the world of work, believes the designer, pointing out that the collection also offers flat ankle boots.
“Personally, I hardly ever wear one. I travel a lot and with my lifestyle it’s more comfortable flat. But, for certain occasions, I like to wear heels, but not excessively,” she confides.
“I like to create collections for all occasions”.