“I strive to be attentive and open to the world and to create fashion that resembles the women of today,” says Maria Grazia Chiuri, the first woman to hold the creative reins at Dior. Her boldly feminine outlook – feminist is a recurring word for her – transpose them into a collection shaped by the sensual tension that exists between the body and clothing.
Christian Dior’s New Look challenged notions of dress with modernity and rigor,giving back to women the curves. Taking on the tradition of the house of Dior, Maria Grazia place the woman front and center, confounding expectations and questioning that which is taken for granted.
She explores the form and shape of a silhouette that’s contemporary, agile and Olympian; exhibiting an elite sporting elegance, while remaining within each woman’s reach. For a uniform this is both a unique and serial element. It is a place where the body’s individuality is prized, and where it can also find common ground with others.
Materials include cotton and denim acts as a connective element. Tulle, silk chiffon and georgette are cut into maxi skirts whose varying lengths reflect a woman’s varying desires. But it is the beating heart embroidered on the chest, as in the first fencing outfits, that express better than a thousand words ever could, the intensity and strength of emotions possessed by the women of today.
