“It’s quite a revolution, dear Christian, your dresses have such a new look,” the editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar in America told the couturier in February 1947.
After a struggle during grim war years, Christian finally found his own designer voice, and his debut collection, with its architectural curves and famous ‘Bar Jacket’, was ground-breaking.
Looks from the Dior ready-to-wear AW24 collection in front of an art installation by Shakuntala Kulkarni. Photo: Laura Sciacovelli
It was a seismic shift away from the styles of the 1920s and 1930s, and his vision for an ultra-feminine silhouette remains relevant today, with its cinched-in waist, rounded shoulders and full skirt.
Since Christian’s death in 1957, the French house has been helmed by designers Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Hedi Slimane and Raf Simons. Indeed, Irish couturier Peter O’Brien from Dublin started out his career there working as a design assistant under Bohan.
Leopard-print elements in the Dior AW24 ready-to-wear collection.
The Dior legacy is now secure in the hands of Italian designer Maria Grazia Chiuri, and with CEO Delphine Arnault, it is a female-led house on what is a very male-dominated couture-house landscape.
In Paris last week, I attended Chiuri’s AW24 ready-to-wear collection show at the Jardin des Tuileries.
There was an unmissable 60s vibe, with tunics and skirts and double-breasted coats that sat just above the knee, worn with white patent boots. There were also sleek, tailored trousers worn with fluid blazers and trench coats and with bags in ‘cannage’ black leather and ‘oblique’ blue jacquard, two of the house’s enduring motifs.
Fringed evening wear from Dior.
Black patent ‘gladiator’-style boots opened down the back, and in a 72-look show, she closed with some metallic fringed and fluid evening wear.
A very strong element in this new collection was the Miss Dior graffiti print used on trenches, blazers and skirts, offset by the simplicity of a black polo neck.
Chiuri worked a classic palette in shades of tan, ivory, caramel and black to great effect in coats with cropped sleeves, chic leather studded berets, tall hats and caps, and a toffee-toned leopard print.
Winter white look with studded leather beret from the Dior AW24 ready-to-wear collection.
If the graffiti print surprises in a world of quiet luxury, it is in fact a ‘manifesto signature’ inspired by the past.
When the house introduced ready to wear in 1967, it named the line Miss Dior after Christian’s sister, Catherine, who was in the French resistance during the war.
The story of her detention by the Nazis and the effect it had on Christian is a major part of the plotline in the opening episodes of new Apple TV+ historical drama The New Look.
Ben Mendelsohn, Juliette Binoche and Maisie Williams with Todd Adam Kessler, creator of Apple TV+ drama ‘The New Look’. Photo: Laora Queyras.
On the eve of the runway show in Paris, I was invited to a screening of the first episode in the 10-part series, where actors Ben Mendelsohn who plays Christian Dior, Maisie Williams, who plays Catherine Dior, and Juliette Binoche, who plays Coco Chanel, and the show’s creator, Todd Adam Kessler, were in attendance at a private cinema in the Latin Quarter.
I spoke to the show’s costume designer, Karen Muller Serreau, who, with her team, reproduced Christian Dior’s haute couture pieces with infinite precision, based on sketches, fabric samples, period photographs and other treasures preserved and shared by Dior Heritage.
‘The New Look’ costume designer Karen Muller Surreau. Photo: Laora Queyras.
The opening scene in the first episode is set in the Sorbonne in 1955 as Dior is asked by students about the war years and he presents 10 looks, including the ‘Bar’ ensemble, signature symbol of the ‘Corolle’ New Look collection, and a bridal gown in tulle.
Two days later, I got to see the costumes up close at La Galerie Dior located behind Christian Dior’s famous salon on Avenue Montaigne.
Costumes from ‘The New Look’ on show at La Galerie Dior. Photo: Lucas Horenburg
A new installation with video footage from the 1955 event opened last week and runs until May 13. The exhibition room is dedicated to the costumes conceived according to the Dior archives, and includes striking pieces from Dior’s 1955 ‘Y’ line such as the Première Soirée white dress.
I look forward to seeing Glenn Close’s portrayal of Carmel Snow in the series. Snow’s goal during her 24-year editorship was to create a magazine for “well-dressed women with well-dressed minds”.
Close has described the Irish woman as “one of the truly iconic, game-changing figures in the history of fashion”. dior.com