With collections setting the pace of the fashion seasons, Fall constitutes a particular period of reflection for Maria Grazia Chiuri, and an ongoing questioning that is constantly renewed. Each time, the wardrobe is revitalized by a series of pieces of which their unique construction, cuts, materials, and creativity have what it takes to meet all women’s needs.
This Dior line is an opportunity to pay homage to New York, the metropolis that was given – as a gift from the French to the United States at the end of the 19th century – a statue which has since become the symbol of this incredible city. In Christian Dior’s autobiography1, the chapter dedicated to his Paris-New York trip opens up a dialogue between the style capitals that Maria Grazia Chiuri highlights in two key prints: the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower that flourish in large format on numerous models.
The bridge between both cultures is Marlene Dietrich, a charismatic, contrarian actress, attached to Dior, in life and on screen. Maria Grazia Chiuri drew inspiration from her to build a collection that fuses the Dior silhouette with the diva’s phantasmagorical presence and boyish allure. The tweeds used came directly from a selection of English menswear fabrics. In his Petit dictionnaire de la mode, Monsieur Dior wrote: “In the last few years, tweeds have extended their use even for dressy suits. I think they are extremely elegant.
To wear them in the country is a ‘must’. At one time, you could only get tweeds in a rather heavy weight but now you can get them in all weights and qualities and colors.2” Marlene Dietrich’s masculine suits provoked scandal, asserting, let us not forget, a woman’s right to choose her attire as she pleases, a tie or a sleeveless vest, for instance: so many emblems that complement each other. Jackets are paired with wide-leg pants or below-the-knee pencil skirts.
The precious and sometimes very light dresses, recalling the style of the ’40s, give a glimpse of the lingerie that turns out to be an essential part of the outfit. Fabrics such as hammered satin, crushed velvet and crepe are reinterpreted in a contemporary spirit. Some of the lace-encrusted slip dresses, often revealed beneath large, lined coats, are made from quilted nylon featuring the cannage motif.
The embroidery evokes brooches and echoes the signature codes so dear to the founding-couturier: the star, the lily of the valley, the clover and the bee. The lace collars become veritable structural intarsias. As for knitwear, a virtuoso level of inventiveness has allowed multiple facets of its extraordinary plurality to be developed.
The Dior Fall 2024 collection, unveiled on April 15, 2024, in New York, embodies a range of possibilities that celebrates the meeting of cultures. A conversation about freedom that gives shape and substance to whatever each woman chooses to be.
