Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear runway collections
, also known as Dior, is a luxury goods company that was founded in 1946 by the eponymous designer. It is part of Groupe Arnault SAS. Dior presents its women's ready-to wear collection semiannually during Paris Fashion Week. The house's creative directors have included Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferre, John Galliano, Bill Gaytten, Raf Simons, and Maria Grazia Chiuri.
The Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear collection is showcased biannually for spring-summer and autumn-winter seasons during Paris Fashion Week to an audience of media, retailers, buyers, investors, and customers, under the auspices of the Chambre Syndicale du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode, which is one of three trade associations affiliated with the Fédération française de la couture, du prêt-à-porter des couturiers et des créateurs de mode.
Spring 2012
The Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear Spring 2012 Runway Show was presented on September 29, 2011 under the direction of Bill Gaytten at a tented Musee Rodin. It was the only second collection since John Galliano's dismissal from the house. The ladylike silhouettes referenced the Dior archives.According to Style.com, haute couture was a major influence on the collection, with wider necklines, wrapped bodices, bubble skirts, and bar jackets in gazar, organza, silk, and tulle. The palette ranged from graphic black and white to softer pale pink and blue with pops of red. Design details included chevron pleats, v-necks, and ribbons.
Described by Vogue UK as demure, proper, and understated, the collection evoked the fifties' glamour. Makeup artist Pat McGrath created a look that she told Allure was “all about a classic, beautiful red lip, done in a modern way.” Hair stylist Orlando Pita rolled the models' hair up in back with a clean side part.
Karolina Kurkova opened the runway show of 47 looks. Toni Garrn, Karmen Pedaru, Liu Wen, Nimue Smit, Ruby Aldridge, Kasia Struss, Hailey Clauson, Shu Pei Qin, Siri Tollerod, Anais Pouliot, Maryna Linchuk, Martha Streck, Vlada Roslyakova, Jourdan Dunn, Anna Selezneva, Fei Fei Sun, Maud Welzen, Arizona Muse, Josephine Skriver, and Miranda Kerr were amongst the models who walked the show. Karlie Kloss closed the presentation.
Poppy Delevingne, Anna Dello Russo, Marisa Berenson, Carine Roitfeld, Antoine Arnault, Linda Fargo, Stefano Tonchi, Giovanna Battaglia, Rachel Zoe, Leighton Meester, Olivia Palermo, Orlando Bloom, Cathy Horyn, Patrick Demarchelier, Tim Blanks, and Dirk Standen attended the show and were photographed on the front row.
"I thought it was really pretty, wonderful light eveningwear—it was a great leap forward from the couture show, particularly with the light treatment of lace and chiffon," said Lucinda Chambers, fashion director of Vogue, afterwards. "I could see it all on the red carpet."
Former Fashion & Beauty Director at Harrods Marigay McKay noted, “Everybody’s been discussing the merits of not having a creative director that is a name or anything behind the house... I would call it sensual modernity. Those transparencies were very sexy, but then the styles were very safe—so that juxtaposition between the transparencies and the shape, but the length of the skirt to the knee. You know there was nothing daring there, other than the fabrics.”
Fall 2012
The Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear Fall 2012 Runway Show was presented on March 1, 2012. The collection's theme was “soft modernity,” evoking Christian Dior's New Look. The collection debuted amid rumors that Creative Director Bill Gaytten, who after working alongside John Galliano for 17 years and succeeding his predecessor's scandalous exit one year prior, would soon be replaced by Haider Ackerman or Raf Simons.The silhouette focused on a cinched waist with fuller skirts and peplum jackets. A prominent theme was the juxtaposition of soft and hard. Dichotic influences paired masculine tailoring with ballet femininity. Draped leather separates gave an edgier appeal to midi-length tutu skirts. The palette included red, wine, mauve, teal, pink, burgundy, grey, and blue. Design details included color-blocking, embroideries, and embellishments.
Aymeline Valade opened the runway show of 56 looks. Kati Nescher, Jourdan Dunn, Nimue Smit, Kasia Struss, Daria Strokous, Ruby Aldridge, Toni Garrn, Liu Wen, Shu Pei Qin, Lily Donaldson, Karmen Pedaru, Vanessa Axente, Yulia Kharlapanova, Suvi Koponen, Josephine Skriver, Nadja Bender, Andreea Diaconu, Montana Cox, Alana Zimmer, Sui He, Anais Pouliot, Michaela Kocianova, Heidi Mount, Lindsey Wixson, and Joan Smalls were amongst the models who walked the show. Karlie Kloss closed the presentation.
Mila Kunis, Marisa Berenson, Natalia Vodianova, Garance Doré, Ellen von Unwerth, Tali Lennox, Anaïs Demoustier, Alysson Paradis, Déborah François, Anna Dello Russo, Diego Della Valle, Franca Sozzani, Andrea Della Valle, Amber Le Bon, Olivia Palermo, Huo Siyan, Alexia Niedzielski, Alexandra Richards, Theodora Richards, Lin Peng, Kitty Zhang Yuqi, Ulyana Sergeenko, Sidney Toledano, and Antoine Arnault attended the show.
“He's doing a really good job. I thought it was ravishing, such lovely colors—the Dior customer would be very happy," said Vogues Lucinda Chambers, noting it to be very pared down but very feminine. "It was really polished, but gentle."
Spring 2013
The Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear Spring 2013 Runway Show was presented on September 27, 2012 at the Hotel National des Invalides. It was Creative Director Raf Simons’s debut ready-to-wear collection for the house, which he joined in April 2012.According to the program notes, Simons’s fourteen-minute presentation was inspired by freedom and liberation. The concept harkened back to Dior’s mission to free women from wartime style. "He embraced the feminine, the complex and the emotional; an idea of freedom and what had gone before," read the notes. Merging his aesthetic with the heritage house, Simons reconstructed the Dior's classic hourglass silhouette.
For daytime, the hemlines remained short, but ankle-length for evening. Prominent silhouettes were architectural and featured fitted blazers, strapless dresses, and balloon skirts. This season's palette included black, ivory, charcoal, red, fuchsia, orange, and yellow. Fabrics used ranged from wool and organdy to tulle, silk, and satin.
Daria Strokous opened the runway show of 53 looks to a David Bowie-filled soundrack. Sigrid Agren, Bette Franke, Sasha Luss, Kati Nescher, Daiane Conterato, Suvi Koponen, Fei Fei Sun, Marine Deleeuw, Ming Xi, Magdalena Frackowiak, Yumi Lambert, Kasia Struss, Patrycja Gardygajlo, Zuzanna Bijoch, Vanessa Axente, Vlada Roslyakova, and Hanne Gaby Odiele were amongst the models who walked the show. Alexandra Martynova closed the presentation.
Leelee Sobieski, Mélanie Laurent, Mario Testino, Marina Foïs, Ludivine Sagnier, Robert DeNir
Fall 2013
The Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear Fall 2013 Runway Show was presented on February 28, 2013. For his sophomore collection, Creative Director Raf Simons was inspired by art for this collection, specifically Andy Warhol's early works. Warhol's spidery, graphic drawings were reinterpreted on embroidered dresses and embossed bags. According to the program notes, the show was inspired by the creative director's and the founder's mutual interest in art. Dior began in art galleries representing Dali and Giacometti. While Dior was obsessed with Belle Epoque, Simons focused on mid-century artists."For me Warhol made so much sense," explained Simons in the notes. "I was interested in the delicacy and sensitivity in the early work he did, I was drawn to that graphic style naturally in this collection. It was that notion of hand work and personal signature that fitted throughout."
Laurie Anderson provided the runway soundtrack. The tented runway show was presented at Les Invalides. The setting included enormous mirrored spheres, which reflected a runway that had been painted with blue skies and white clouds.
Carolina Sjostrand opened the runway show of 47 looks. Sasha Loss, Fei Fei Sun, Kati Nescher, Amanda Murphy, Catherine McNeil, Elise Crombez, Bette Franke, Anouck Lepere, and Kasia Struss were amongst the models who walked the show. Janice Alida closed the presentation.
Mélanie Laurent, Marion Cotillard, Natalia Vodianova, Antoine Arnault, Frank Ocean, Victoire de Castellane, Ana Giradot, Tallulah Harlech, Celine Sallette, Carine Roitfeld, Shu Pei Qin, Franca Sozzani, Anna Dello Russo, Marie-Josee Croze, Giovanna Battaglia, Olivia Palermo, Ulyana Sergeenko, Chitrangda Singh, and Chiara Ferragni attended the show.
“It’s quite surrealistic, innovative, what I saw is a lot fantasy and artistic element,” noted Vodianova. “And that’s Raf has plenty to say there; he’s an artist. He really surprises you every time.”
“I love the knitwear the most. Maybe because I never saw it on a Dior catwalk,” observed Battaglia. “The black and white, cable-knit, yes, I like the skirt. I thought it was chic… It’s a new Lady Dior. She’s also a contemporary women. You can’t all the time be on high heels. Sometimes you want to be in flats. It’s not just about being fabulous, just about being what you feel real.”
“The collection is completely not defined by one silhouette or one material or one coloration,” explained Simons. “It’s a lot of juxtaposition between things that are very much in contrast as well. Something very surreal with something very real. Something very soft and very romantic and dreamy with something that can be harder sometimes… I was interested in having a collection which speaks a lot about feelings and emotions, whether if it’s like happiness or sadness. Things related to reality or things related to dreams and I thought about approaching it almost like a personal scrapbook. The reason why I think I want to go there now is to have more dialogue, you know, like let’s talk about what we see and what we feel.”
Spring 2014
The Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear Spring 2014 Runway Show was presented on September 26, 2013 at a tented Musee Rodin. The Creative Director staged his presentation against the backdrop of a garden landscape. According to the program notes, the collection referred to as “Trans-Dior” was a cross-section of Christian Dior and Raf Simons, where Dior's New Look silhouette would be transformed.Featured silhouettes included floral pleated dresses, tailored shorts, deconstructed shirts, diaphonous t- shirts, and curved peplum jackets. Many of the pieces were embroidered with slogans, such as "hyperrealness in the daytime," "Alice Garden," and "primrose path." Hemlines fell just at or below the knee. The palette was black, brown, blue, pink, orange, yellow, and white, with floral patterns throughout. This season's fabrics ranged from brocade, jacquard, wool, and organza to cotton, jersey, silk, and tulle with sequin and crystal embellishments.
Daria Strokous opened the runway show of 76 looks. Sasha Luss, Kaitlin Aas, Julia Nobis, Josepehine Le Tutour, Kasia Struss, Daiane Conterato, Fei Fei Sun, Marine Deleeuw, Devon Windsor, Alana Zimmer, and Maartje Verhoef were amongst the models who walked the show.
Natalia Vodianova, Marisa Berenson, Olga Kurylenko, Isabelle Huppert, Alexandra Richards, Eva Riccobono, Garance Doré, Michel Denisot, Giovanna Battaglia, Franca Sozzani, Anna Dello Russo, Lou de Laâge, Ni Ni, Miroslava Duma, Ulyana Sergeenko, Frédéric Mitterrand, and Angelababy attended the show.
“It’s about ‘Les Femmes Fleurs’ and it's about nature and gardens, but the big difference, I think, is that how he perceived that and translated that,” explained Simons to Now Fashion after the show. “I see it now evolving to also something very different, a very different form language, a very different attitude, more modernity, more futurism, but still with the same kind of principles, still with the romance, and still with the softness and still with the movement in all kinds of femininity. So in that sense it’s the same.”
“It make very modern, a shape that we know, like it’s a Dior, but he made it completely twisted in his way with a lot of even humor, because he mixed the colors in a different way,” noted Sozzani.
“What I wanted to do with the show was take the literal DNA of the house ‘Les Femmes Fleurs’ gardens, beauty, but I wanted to have the aesthetic difference, even if the psychology was exactly the same” explained Simons. “I think with this collection, I didn’t really want to specifically split up the idea of the aesthetic related to one culture. I think in that sense it’s more abstracted for me, and that is what I think about how he looked at it, rather simple or rather pure, but kind of a global message to women—wherever they come from, whomever they are. I don’t want to take one theme. It doesn’t feel right for me, because I don’t want that people can only perceive it in one way.”
“It’s a mixture of very sort of vigueur and feminine,” observed Berenson. “He’s very linear. He has sort of structure, but you know, interesting shapes, interesting melange of fabrics. I think he’s a very modern man.”
Fall 2014
The Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear Fall 2014 Runway Show was presented on February 27, 2014. This season was a luxurious interpretation of sportswear with masculinely tailored garments that didn't sacrifice femininity. Hemlines varied from knee to floor-length. Silhouettes included double-breasted jackets, oversized coats, slim pants, asymmetrical skirts, and double dresses.The color story featured black, midnight blue, cobalt, navy, pink, red, burgundy, green, yellow, camel, blue, and ivory. Fabrics ranged from cashmere, cotton, knitwear, wool, and flannel to leather, astrakhan, silk, satin, and nylon adorned with Swarovski crystals.
Kinga Rajzak opened the runway show of 55 looks. Mariacarla Boscono, Daiane Conterato, Kaitlin Aas, Sasha Luss, Daria Strokous, Julia Nobis, Valery Kaufman, Kati Nescher, Anna Ewers, Ginta Lapina, Lexi Boling, Marine Deleeuw, Fei Fei Sun, and Manuela Frey were amongst the models who walked the show. Jamie Bochert closed the presentation.
Rihanna, Jessica Alba, Eva Herzigova, Emma Roberts, Marisa Berenson, Ruth Wilson, Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana, Kris Van Assche, Patrick Demarchelier, Anna Dello Russo, Garance Doré, Miroslava Duma, and Laure Hériard Dubreuil attended the show.
“When you take a position at a heritage house, you also think about your whole situation and your own position,” Simons told Women's Wear Daily before the show. “What you stand for, what you believe in and what you express naturally and how you can add that to the world you’re representing.”
“Some of the shapes remind me of the shapes of Dior, but in such a modern way, such a good attitude,” observed Franca Sozzani. “And even so cool—the girls, their makeup on their eyes, their very straight hair.”
“I think as much as you are so attracted to something, as much as you are respectful so something, you kind of also, have to not attack it, but you also have to change it,” explained Simons after the show. “I think you have to keep something which is very honest, whilst the intentions from the original founders, then I also have to place it in today’s reality. Reality is not always so glamorous. So it’s nothing to do with rejecting something. It’s really like adding and offering possibilities. I know where I am, but I also never forget where I came from—so I think that it’s not possible for me to design without always fusing those two quite different worlds. I think I just do what I have to do.”
Spring 2015
The Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear Spring 2015 Runway Show was presented on September 26, 2014 in a mirrored tent at the Louvre's Cour Carrée. Vogue described the set as referencing the world of .Women's Wear Daily noted the disparate elements as a street to stratosphere collection, merging eighteenth-century French royal court silhouettes with more futuristic science-fiction fabrics. Featured silhouettes included slim pants, a-line skirts, tailored jackets, bombers, fitted sheaths, and maxi dresses. The hemlines fell above and below the knee. This season's color story included white, black, brown, navy, green, pink, acid yellow, fuchsia, and orange. The materials included tech fabrics, leather, wool, cotton, knit, linen, silk, satin, and jersey. Design details took an architectural approach, with floral embroideries, quilting, and structured knits.
Lis van Velthoven opened the runway show of 50 looks. Karolin Wolter, Julia Nobis, Yumi Lambert, Fei Fei Sun, Daiane Conterato, Daria Strokous, Maarte Verhoef, Mica Arganaraz, Natalie Westling, and Malaika Firth were amongst the models who walked the show. Waleska Gorczevski closed the presentation.
Dakota Fanning, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Li Bingbing, Marion Cotillard, Natalie Dormer, Coco Rocha, Erin O’Connor, Bernard Arnault, Kris Van Assche, Azzedine Alaïa, Carla Sozzani, Delphine Arnault, Mademoiselle Yulia, Olivia Palermo, Camille Rowe, Hanneli Mustaparta, Anna Dello Russo, Miroslava Duma, Ísis Valvarde, Ginerva Elkann, Harley Viera-Newton, Paolo de Orleans e Bragança, Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis, Claudia Kim, and Natalia Alaverdian attended the show.
As Simons said to Vogue, “I like very much this juxtaposition between something which is very historical and which can become very heavy in terms of materialization and in terms of printing, and something very clean and simple and very summery... Some looks I approached very abstract like the first outcomes. I think they are like very simple modern looks and there was a suggestion of the past purely by adding a certain fabric. And then further in the show it’s also, of course, very much linked to the way things were constructed in the past. Christian Dior was a very architectural designer. So I thought we had already worked a lot on his silhouette. I thought I want to investigate history where architectural aspects of garments were very interesting. And that’s what brought me to, for example, top coats, which are very architecturally constructed, which were actually for men back in the days. I like the fact that Christian Dior has such a kind of historical approach, but it will always be my goal to also bring a lot of variety... we even injected a lot of things that have nothing to do with Christian Dior, like the skater pant, for example, or an easy sweater, to just kind of have a little bit more juxtaposition of garments that can have very different kind of aesthetic, but it’s also I think, how women these days are very much dressing themselves.”
Fall 2015
The Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear Fall 2015 Runway Show was presented on March 6, 2015 to the soudtrack of Throbbing Gristle's “Hot on the Heels of Love”. at the Louvre. For fall, Simons wanted to explore the Dior woman's primal extincts. Silhouettes included pantsuits, double-breasted jackets, and jumpsuits, paired with thigh-high boots and lucite heels. More than half of the looks were topped off with outerwear separates. Simons partnered with the fabric firm Kvadrat to develop tweeds and other fabrics for the collection.According to the program notes, Simons wanted "that feeling of sensory overload in the collection, with this animalistic sexual woman wearing a new kind of camouflage." "I wanted the collection to deal with nature and femininity in a different way... Away from the garden and the flower to something more liberated, darker and more sexual."
Simons told Vogue, “This is the second season where I start to realize that couture can be an activator of something and then from couture you take it an approach it for ready to wear styles... It needed a couple of years to feel free enough to also dare to release from the heritage of silhouettes. I still like to do something which was very strong nature suggested, but maybe less pamfleur and garden and romantic, but something more savage, urban, a little bit more sexual. For me, this is very feminine, and very sensual and sexual, but maybe less romantic in the way how a lot of people perceive it, but not necessarily for me.”
“Color for Fall/Winter is less intuitive, so I find this bright color kind of a real hsot in the arm”, observed Linda Fargo. “The opening pieces, those were easy, but you know, I like how Raf moved it through though.”
Marylou Moll opened the runway show of 56 looks. Grace Hartzel, Lia Pavlova, Lexi Boling, Julia Nobis, Mica Arganaraz, Hanne Gaby Odiele, Julia Bergshoeff, Maarte Verhoef, Fei Fei Sun, Amanda Murphy were amongst the models who walked the show. Katya Ledneva closed the presentation.
Lorde, Kanye West, Delphine Arnault, Dakota Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Christopher Kane, Diane von Furstenberg, Carla Sozzani, Azzedine Alaïa, Stella Tennant, Mario Testino, Patrick Demarchelier, Kris Van Assche, Aymeline Valade, Marisa Berenson, Laetitia Casta, Hanneli Mustaparta, Marie-Josée Croze, Camille Rowe, Olympia Scarry, Melissa George, Anna Dello Russo, Olivia Palermo, Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis, Laure Heriard Dubreuil, Miroslava Duma, and Chiara Ferragni attended the show.
Spring 2016
The Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear Spring 2016 Runway Show was presented on October 2, 2015 inside a blue-hued delphinium-filled tent, 400,000 to be exact, along the Rue de Rivoli within the courtyard of the Carré du Louvre. The collection was inspired by Peter Weir’s 1975 film Picnic at Hanging Rock. Simons told Vogue UK that he wanted “the collection to have a purity to it.” The artistic director continued to reinterpret Dior's 1947 New Look hourglass silhoutte, juxtaposing masculine and feminine elements, while incorporating Victorian and Edwardian design techniques. The collection included cami knickers, chemise tops, embroidered military jackets, and pleated asymmetrical skirts. The palette featured black, ecru, brown, pink, violet, and coral. Materials used included silk, cotton, wool, organza, nylon, chiffon, and leather. Design details varied from scalloped edges, rounded shoulders, and pleated hems to floral embroideries, sequin embellishments, and three-dimensional appliques.Sofia Mechetner opened the runway show of 50 looks. Julia Nobis, Mica Arganaraz, Ala Sekula, Greta Varlese, Odette Pavlova, Estelle Chen, and Lexi Boling were amongst the models who walked the show. Julie Hoomans closed the presentation.
Rihanna, Elizabeth Olsen, Leelee Sobieski, Aymeline Valade, Miroslava Duma, Hanne Gaby Odiele, Marisa Berenson, Emilia Clarke, Cressida Bonas, and Erin O’Connor attended the show.
"When you arrive and you see all the flowers they’ve put, the magic starts right from the entrance, observed Chiara Mastroianni. “And the only thing I can expect is to have fun and to be taken to another world. Fantasy!”
“I wanted to stay with a lot of things that we have been working on in the last couple of seasons, especially in the couture, but are now, make them ready for ready-to-wear,” explained Simons. “And so in that sense, I like to call it a very, very sensitive, pure, romantic futurism—futuristic romanticism. I wanted to do something, which is a little more pure than what we usually do. I think I feel like that because of what I think was happening to the fashion world in general. Things become, they go to a peak of like overexposure and overdecorated, and seen on the internet and clicked away a split second. Things are so instant and so fast and then they’re pushed away and next and pushed away and next. And I think I’ve been trying to build up something that there was gonna be a strong identity again.”
Fall 2016
The Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear Fall 2016 Runway Show was presented on March 4, 2016 at the Louvre. The domed set interior featured arches and a mirrored wall with matte silver and oxblood velvet. The cavernous setting created an environment conducive to the reverberations of a pulsating runway soundtrack. With the departure of Raf Simons, Lucie Meier, and Serge Ruffieux, part of Simons' former team, unveiled a collection marked by black suiting, high-waisted pencil skirts, and softer jackets.Vogue Runway described many of the shapes as fashion-forward with flounce accents, higher necklines, and leg-of-mutton sleeves. There were also graphic elements, highlighted here with colored off-the-shoulder furs. The palette included orange, lavender, lime, hot pink, yellow, grey, and black. New proportions gave way to mini jackets, deep slits, and peplum dresses, while bare shoulders read as more feminine and seductive.
Women's Wear Daily referenced the collection's contradictions with asymmetry and a mix of patterns and prints. The beauty looks took on an androgynous, punkish, rebellious feeling, with Gothic elements. Dior Creative Image Director Peter Phillips created a new shade called Poison, a deep purple, for the Rouge Dior lipstick line. Hairstylist Guido Palau created a 1920s-influenced style.
Liv Mason Pearson opened the runway show of 57 looks. Camile Hurel, Lineisy Montero, Binx Walton, Jamie Bochert, Teddy Quinlivan, Mica Arganaraz, Kendall Jenner, Vera van Erp, Ella Wennström, and Julia Nobis were amongst the models who walked the show. Sarah Brannon closed the presentation.
Victoire de Castellane, Audrey Marnay, Lily McMenamy, Rosamund Pike, Emmy Rossum, Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis, Sabine Getty, Marisa Berenson, Riley Keough, Anna Dello Russo, Pierre Niney, Naomie Harris, and Jessica Alba attended the show.
Spring 2017
The Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear Spring 2017 Runway Show was presented on September 30, 2016 at the Musee Rodin. This season marked the debut of Maria Grazia Chiuri, the first female creative director in the 70-year history of the house. Chiuri had previously spent seven years at Valentino, where she was part of a design team that quadrupled the company's sales.Key pieces included lacy blouses, net dresses, tulle skirts, pea coats, and bar jackets. The creative director also showed a slogan T-shirt that read “We should all be Feminists,” which references Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Ted 2012 TEDx talk and subsequent book.
Chiuri drew inspiration from the 1976 film L’Innocente. Prominent shapes varied from mini bustier dresses and long, lace dresses to circle skirts and masculine trousers paired with bar jackets. The collection opened with a series of modern fencing-inspired pieces, but also paid homage to her predecessors with heritage elements. Dew Magazine noted that many of the gossamer gowns shown harkened back to her tenure at Valentino. Fabrics featured cotton, tulle, silk, lace, chiffon, cashmere, denim, and leather. Embroideries referenced zodiac signs, tarot card symbols, florals and bees. The palette included black, white, blue, pink, and red.
"I want to create fashion that resembles the women of today," Chiuri noted. "Fashion that corresponds to their changing needs, freed from the stereotypical categories of masculine and feminine." "I wanted to overcome the traditional man/woman, tailored/ casual, reason/emotion, stereotypes... And I precisely thought of a wardrobe which is not just feminine, but feminist, where the distinctions between mind and heart no longer exist and thinking merges with action."
"When you are a woman making clothes for women, fashion is not just about how you look, but how you feel and think,” Chiuri told The Guardian. “Feminism for me is about equal opportunities... If I am going to stand for something, I would like to stand for this idea: that if you are a woman you can have these opportunities in life.”
Ruth Bell opened the runway show of 64 looks. Kris Grikaite, Lexi Boling, Torry Zherebtcova, Caroline Schurch, and Nora Attal were amongst the models who walked the show. Cara Taylor closed the presentation.
Rihanna, Kate Moss, Olivia Palermo, Hayley Bennett, Milla Jovovich, Gemma Arterton, Stella Tennant, Gabriel Kane, Karlie Kloss, Diane Kruger, Carla Bruni, Alber Elbaz, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Giambattista Valli, Arizona Muse, Bianca Jagger, Bruno Frisoni, Camille Rowe, Charlotte Le Bon, Delphine Arnault, Diane Kruger, Gaia Repossi, Jennifer Lawrence, Laetitia Casta, Marion Cotillard, Natalia Vodianova, Natalie Portman, Pierre Cardin, and Sabine Getty attended the show.
Fall 2017
The Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear Fall 2017 Runway Show was presented on March 3, 2017 at the Musee Rodin. With a mood board that featured Picasso, Georges Braque, and Nina Simone, Maria Grazia Chiuri unveiled her sophomore military-influenced ready-to-wear collection.The collection was underscored by a sense of gender fluidity. Chiuri's focus was on sportier daywear with oversized anoraks, bomber jackets, hooded tunics, cutaway capes, loose trousers, and flounced maxi skirts. She referenced the Dior archives, reinterpreting classic suiting as a modern-day uniform. There was also a conspicuous use of logos. The palette included black, white, and various shades of blue. Fabrics varied from denim, cotton, and wool to velvet, jersey, chiffon, and taffeta.
Ruth Bell opened the runway show of 69 looks. Carol Paes, Aira Ferreira, Lineisy Montero, Teddy Quinlivan, Binx Walton, Jing Wen, Natalia Trnkova, and Ellen Rosa were amongst the models who walked the show. Camille Hurel closed the presentation.
Karlie Kloss, Clémence Poésy, Winnie Harlow, Camille Rowe, Sienna Miller, Olivia Palermo, Daisy Lowe, Ruth Wilson, Eva Herzigová, Kate Moss, Aymeline Valade, Swizz Beatz, Alicia Keys, Uma Thurman, and Rosamund Pike attended the show.
“I need to speak to the millennials, and understand this generation, because I want to support them,” Chiuri told Vogue during a preview. “I want to build a wardrobe. I don’t believe in one uniform for everyone, but that everyone needs to find her own uniform, in which to express and protect herself.”
Spring 2018
The Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear Spring 2018 Runway Show was presented on September 26, 2017 at the Musee Rodin. Key ensembles included 70s patchwork jeans, leather jumpsuits, black pantsuits, and sheer dresses.Sasha Pivovarova opened the runway show of 80 looks, and Ruth Bell closed it.
Women's Wear Daily noted the dichotomy of the political undertones and social consciousness of the collection, while trying to attract the new Millennial customer base. Chiuri searched the Dior archives, and was also inspired by Linda Nochlin’s 1971 essay, “Why have there not been great women artists?" - so much so that Sasha Pivovarova opened the show wearing a top with that embroidered message. As told to Women's Wear Daily during a preview, “I would like to involve the young generation with this book, because at times, I think women are not so confident in themselves... Sometimes the problem is not on the outside; it is on the inside.”
Bridging the gap between traditional and contemporary, the collection paired more relaxed silhouettes, T-shirts, denim trousers, and striped nautical tops with bar jackets, leather jumpsuits, and pleated tulle skirts. Fabrics varied from silk, chiffon, and tulle to leather, poplin, and fur. The palette included white, navy, black, and red.
A copy of Nochlin's essay was placed on each seat. Chiuri also drew inspiration from French feminist sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle. The collection had a sixties-seventies influence with references to Paco Rabanne and Barbarella.
In a preview with Vogue UK, Chiuri lamented at all of the attention she had received as Dior's first female creative director. “I think, in a way, when people point it out, they’re not recognising that I have a talent. I’m not here because I’m a woman, but because I’m good at what I do.”
"It's strange for me to be talking about this argument still, but now we have to speak up again! It's a culture that's inside us... Niki de Saint Phalle lived in a time when it was very difficult for women to express themselves. But the new generation, I think, has to fight with themselves to change these ideas, too."
Fall 2018
The Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear Fall 2018 Runway Show was presented on February 27, 2018 at the Musee Rodin. With 2018 marking the 50th anniversary of the 1968 youth revolts, Chiuri drew parallelisms between then and now in politics and fashion.Once again the references of the 60s' political unrest and protest remained an underlying themes, but this season Chiuri culled the archives with her modern-day interpretation on patchwork, piecing together reproductions of Dior archival prints.
The references to feminism, women's studies, and gender equality were especially notable given the #MeToo and Time's Up campaigns. The backdrop for the runway show was wallpapered in magazine clippings from 1968, when women were ironically protesting the house for not selling miniskirts.
The palette included black, blue, brown, red, green, and silver. Featured fabrics ranged from wool, velvet, and shearling to knits, chiffon, and leather. Tailored jackets were paired with long pleated skirts, while oversized parkas and capes were layered over fluid dresses.
Chiuri told Vogue Paris, “The young generation changed the world, so the references we are using at the back and all around the show were an important moment in fashion... Couture houses either adapted or closed. It was the beginning of prêt-a-porter and the time of Miss Dior.”
“I’m trying to speak about feminine craftsmanship, and other works like knitwear and embroidery,” Chiuri explained. “Patchwork is like another kind of print. I had 60 days to research the authenticity of lace, embroidery and patchwork, paint, craftsmanship, even fake fur made from wool."
Dylan Penn, Winnie Harlow, Jeanne Damas, Olga Kurylenko, Cara Delevingne, Olivia Palermo, Bianca Jagger, and Isabelle Huppert. attended the show.
Spring 2019
The Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear Spring 2019 Runway Show was presented on September 24, 2018 in the Bois de Boulogne. Held inside a dimly-lit tent, with a 1,700 square foot platform and runway at the Hippodrome de Longchamp, this presentation was set against the backdrop of a black box with parquet floors. Built around the themes of grace and freedom, the collection's silhouettes were inspired by choreographers Pina Bauch, Martha Graham, and Isadora Duncan.As told to Vogue, “I wanted to speak about dance with a different point of view,” said Creative Director Maria Grazia Chiuri backstage. “I think that dance and fashion are very close, for they both speak about the body.” She added, “Modern choreographers speak about freedom.”
With a palatte of greys, pales, and nudes, dance-inspired pieces were the foundation with deboned bustiers, silk jerseys, leotards, ethereal tulle gowns, lace, feminine florals, and ballet slippers. Israeli Choreographer Sharon Eyal and members of her dance company opened the presentation with a conceptual dance piece as rose petals fell from the ceiling.
As told to Vogue Italia, “I decided to make a collection with this inspiration, and it has been nice to see dance from this different point of view with a collaboration. It is sometimes important to collaborate with an artist who can give you another point of view about your job,” said Chiuri. “Sharon was fascinated by the craft and the lightness of Dior, so we decided together to build this collection as a performance. That is not so easy, because for fashion you need to show the dress and you need light and space.”
Pietro Beccari, Dior's CEO, explained this new vision. “I think today the show is more and more not just a display of clothes – you want it to create emotion,” the executive said. “Maria Grazia and I love this. We are Italian, full of emotions. I want people to stand up, saying first, ‘Fantastic clothes!’ but also, ‘I got something out of it.’”
Selena Forrest, Sora Choi, Zoe Thaets, Nora Attal, Lineisy Montero, Felice Noordhoff, Lara Mullen, and Adwoa Aboah walked in the show. The audience of 2,000 guests included Camille Rowe, Shailene Woodley, Blake Lively, Olivia Cooke, Dree Hemingway, Jeanne Damas, and Angelababy.
Fall 2019
The Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear Fall 2019 Runway Show was presented on February 26, 2019 in a box behind the Musee Rodin. Creative Director, Maria Grazia Chiuri invited Italian concept artist and activist, Tomaso Binga to read an Italian poem about feminine victory over patriarchy.Messages of female empowerment endured with the show’s opening look, a “Sisterhood is Global” t-shirt paired with a grey skirt and corset belt.
Inspired by the British subcultures of the Fifties and Ken Russell’s “Photographs of British Teddy Girls,” with a nod to the new Dior exhibit at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Silhouttes included velvet drain-pipe pants, sheer princess skirts, Edwardian jackets, rompers, bustiers, and boy shorts accented by sequins, jacquards, three-dimensional flowers, and fringe. The collection was waist-centric with lean sweaters, tulle skirts, tartans, and buffalo plaids.
Chuiri said of the house's famed New Look aesthetic, “Honestly, this silhouette is not easy for me, because of some ways, it feels special and special in the past of Dior. The materials were very heavy,” she told WWD during a preview. She's determined to de-chichi it and put in an everyday, sportswear context.
Eva Herzigova Karlie Kloss, Jennifer Lawrence, and Cara Delevingne attended the presentation.
The Pretenders’s “Don't Get me Wrong,” and Amy Winehouse’s “Me & Mr. Jones,” provided the runway soundtrack.
Selena Forrest opened the runway presentation of 89 looks. Lara Mullen, Binx Walton, Anok Yai, Fran Summers, Jing Wen, Kris Grikaite, and Sara Grace Wallerstedt walked in the show. Ruth Bell closed the presentation.
Spring 2020
The Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear Spring 2020 Runway Show was presented on September 24, 2019 at the Hippodrome de Longchamps Racetrack. Creative Director, Maria Grazia Chiuri collaborated with Coloco, a Parisian environmental design company, she sought out for both their inspirational and sustainable approach. With an “inclusive garden” design and layout of 160 heterogenous trees, which would later be donated and distributed across various community garden projects, Chiuri set a metaphorical mantra. “Respect for diversity and nature will set us free.” Intersecting sustainabinility with technology, guests could also scan a QR code on the trees to learn where they would be replanted. The designer also noted the brand’s namesake sister Catherine Dior as inspiration, who after surviving a concentration camp during World War II, became an acclaimed gardener and botanist.Layered garden party ensembles and utilitarian silhouettes paired boxy jackets, dropped crotch pants, diaphonous long skirts, and embroidered dresses in an earthtone palette and muted florals. Raffia dresses, straw hats, and embroidered enhanced the collection’s textural, woodsy elements.
As told to WWD, “We have to use creativity, but we are more conscious about what we do…,” she said during a preview. “It’s important that the message is correct.” Chiuri acknowledged the complex, paradoxical nature of sustainability in fashion. “On one side is the desire to renovate ,” she said. “At the same time, create desire. We can find a balance that works. It’s very complex.”
According to the show notes, “Conceived as an 'inclusive garden,' questions the place and role of living creatures on our planet. This is demonstrated by the scenography: a traveling grove designed with landscaping collective Coloco, the trees from which will continue their life journey after the show to enrich and preserve, like a pluralistic garden, the biodiversity of wooded spaces and other sustainability initiatives."
Ruth Bell opened the presentation of 89 looks, while Selena Forrest closed it. Roos van Elk, Qin Tian, Kukua Williams, Josephine Lynderup, Asya Ershova, Karlijin Kusters, Jordan Daniels, Blesnya Minher, Shuping Li, and Morgan Fernandez also walked the show.
Angelababy, Bianca Brandolini, Erin O’Connor, Isabelle Huppert, Jeanne Dumas, Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore, Karlie Kloss, Laetitia Casta, Marisa Berenson, Monica Bellucci, and Natalia Vodianova were amongst the front row guests.
As research for the Spring 2020 Collection, Chiuri visited with Marc Jeanson, botanist and Director of the Grand Herbier at the Museum of Natural History in Paris to cull their archive of more than 8,000,000 specimens. Marc Jeanson explained, “We don’t describe plants out of living plants. We describe out of herbarium specimens. And so we would check the specimens that we brought back from the field, describe the species in the ost accurate way… We keep every plant, from the babab tree to the smallest flowering plant in the world, that we call water lentils...
When Chiuri asked what could be done to maintain the plant species, Jeanson explained the need for cataloguing as many species as possible before extinction, “In order to preserve and to keep this biodiversity, we first need to identify it. Today, we really go into areas of the world where the wild plants are threatened and it’s very important for us to do that now, because the clock is ticking, you know, and we really need to go as fast as possible before it’s gone. Only 10-15% of the living world around us has been described. We need to describe so many more, because we depend on this living world to thrive and to maintain our species on the planet. And so it’s great to go on the moon; there’s a lot to do on Mars, but the first thing is to work on our little Earth, because most of the work needs to be done and it hasn’t been done yet.”
Emanuele Coccia, Associate Professor at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, shared his views on the fundamental relationship between the Earth, the sun, and humankind in a discussion with Chiuri. “Plants have been a victim of our carelessness for thousands of years. We’re starting to recognize that they’re not just a nice background for our cities, or even our wild spaces... What is a garden? A garden is the cohabitation of different beings, according to a plan. The garden is the center of the identity of Christian Dior. The very first collection launched by Christian Dior in 1947 was inspired by plants. There is something that is specific to this House: its attentiveness throughout the years, to the life of plants. This makes it, I think, the one House that can, and that I would say must lead the way to fashion, becoming one of the laboratories where we can give more thought to the idea of tending to a cosmic and global garden.”