Dior: Fall show in New York

About ten years ago, fashion experienced a spring break: after the fashion weeks of autumn-winter collections presented in February and March, we (almost) did not hear about fashion shows again until the beginning of September. Those days are over. Despite the unfavorable economic context, the main luxury houses maintain their surplus shows, which they organize from April to June, most often abroad.

Some choose surprising destinations because they are not associated with the world of luxury, such as Chanel, which, after investing in Dakar and Manchester, will appear in Marseille on May 2. Others prefer to aim for spectacular architectural locations: Vuitton will present its collections in Shanghai (April 18), then Barcelona (May 23). For its “Fall 2024” collection, Dior, which opened its spring fashion shows on April 15, chose a city that resonates with its history and allows it to target an important market: New York.

The United States played a crucial role in the success of Christian Dior from his first Paris show on February 12, 1947: after seeing tight-waisted jackets and luxurious skirts, Carmel Snow, editor-in-chief of the American magazine. Harper’s BazaarThe couturier was congratulated for his unique silhouettes that offered a “new look,” or “new look” in the original version. The expression would enter the annals of fashion and actively contribute to the influence of the brand throughout the world, the New Look would become synonymous with the sartorial aesthetic revival of the post-war period.

Christian Dior loved the United States, which responded to him: in September 1947, he received a fashion prize from the Neiman Marcus department store; He took the opportunity to travel the country and envision models he called “Texas,” “Chicago” or “New York Secret.” The big apple especially fascinates him; In his memoirs, he writes: “My enthusiasm was boundless; I forgot my old continent. » In October 1948, he opened shop V^e Avenue.

Seventy-five years later, the situation has not changed much. Dior still has a store on V^e Avenue, two blocks from the historic site. In March 2024, the artistic director of the women’s collections, Maria Grazia Chiuri, who continues to reinterpret a new look every season, received the Neiman Marcus prize. And also relies on the energy of New York to create new models: “I grew up watching films made there, after fashion week, which offered more sportswear, which was different in Europe., explains the 60-year-old designer. This city is a dream for me. And this is intrinsically linked to the history of Dior. »

Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty

If you were fascinated by Christian Dior sea ​​line Manhattan’s Maria Grazia Chiuri is more focused on the Brooklyn Museum. This institution, which hosted the exhibition “Dior, couturier du rêve” in 2021, has a large collection dedicated to feminist art, a favorite theme of the designer. This is where the Fall 2024 show takes place, under the central rotunda, in a vast space decorated by the artistic duo Claire Fontaine, Fulvia Carnevale and James Thornhill: a series of neon lights of different colors reproduce hands whose fingers. Let’s join together to create a diamond.

This gesture, which symbolizes the female gender, was born in the second half of the 1970s during the feminist demonstrations. “Placing this gender as desirable, unknown, in a public place was an act of rare visual violence, because its materialization was also a means of banishing it, freeing oneself from it, as slavery, as a secret. The darkness that surrounds us »Claire Fontaine explains.

On the catwalk surrounded by 800 guests, nothing radical, on the contrary: following her eight years at Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri presents a pragmatic collection that can meet all the needs of the day, from couture to evening. Dresses in sportswear. The dresses are elegant, made of crushed velvet, draped at the back or embroidered with strips of shimmering sequins; Suits evoke Christian Dior’s heritage, flared at the hips, embroidered with his favorite codes (bees, shamrocks, stars), sometimes enhanced with a tie. Pretty double-breasted jackets of leather or wool Big size represents the sure values ​​of an elegant and sober wardrobe.

Two illustrations representing the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty, printed on bags, the back of jackets or T-shirts, recall the context of the parade. The main source of inspiration for this collection is not really related to New York, as it is Marlene Dietrich, the main client of the house. “The ability to use clothes to define one’s image” Maria Grazia Chiuri was seduced.

Either way, this masculine and glamorous wardrobe, elegant and relaxed, should appeal to many customers at the show, already dressed head-to-toe by the designer, who has quadrupled the womenswear division of Dior since 2016. In these troubled times, it seems logical to focus on stability.