Photo by Steven Klein
THE SMITHS X DIOR
THE SIBLINGS TURNING GENDER NORMS ON THEIR HEADS Willow and Jaden Smith are Hollywood’s ultimate celebrity siblings. Despite obtaining their fame as the offspring of celebrity couple Will and Jada Smith, the pair have gone above and beyond to show how talented a family they truly are. Willow’s name skyrocketed to household popularity in 2010 with her iconic single ‘Whip My Hair’ released when Smith was only 10 years old. While Jaden has built numerous accolades as both an actor and musician. The star duo have made a name for themselves not only for their talent, but for their fashion statements, regularly breaking down gendered stereotypes and going outside of the box. Jaden made headlines in 2016 as the first male face of the Louis Vuitton Womenswear, in which he wore a skirt. Now 20 and 23 respectively, the siblings are pioneers for genderless fashion, representing Gen Z’s more progressive political and sociological views. As musical artists, the pair have both show pop punk and hip hop influences. They represent a new wave of youth pop culture as seen in the phenomenal popularity of Willow’s recent single Transparent Soul on social media platforms Tik Tok and Instagram.
A WORD FROM THE DESIGNER AN UPDATE FROM MAISON DESIGNER MARIA GRAZIA CHIURI Since the beginning of my journey at Dior it has been crucial to me to design for the modern Dior woman. Taking cues from the history of the brand, I have aimed to reinvision classic Dior silhouettes and fabrications for the contemporary woman - she is strong, she is fearless and she is authentically herself. When I was introduced to Willow Smith in 2018 at our Paris Couture Show, I saw how she embodied this, and knew she would be the perfect brand ambassador for the brand. Then I met her brother Jaden, and I was inspired by the way these siblings both embody the boundary breaking spirit that I myself infuse in my own work. They are unapologetically themselves. I was inspired by their outspoken advocacy and intersectional feminist activism, and in collaboration we have created a first for Dior - A gender neutral capsule collection. The collection celebrates what the Smith SIblings stand for unlocking your identity and celebrating who you truly are. The collection features 100% recycled denim from previous collections at Dior. Denim has a special place in the heritage of Dior, and is a fabric that can be worn and loved by all - much like this collection.
DIOR AND DENIM A LEGACY THAT BEGINS WITH MONSIEUR DIOR HIMSELF
The Christian Dior Fashion House debuted its first collection February 12, 1947. With this collection Dior debuted a revolutionary ‘New Look’, as coined by US Harper’s Bazaar editor Carmel Snow. This look was characterised by an exaggerated silhouette that featured small shoulders, voluminous skirts, a cinched waist and a fuller bust. This contrasted the more structural style of WWII era Europe, and played a role in reestablishing the playfulness of Paris as the fashion capital. In 1949, Christian Dior was the first couturier to arrange licensed production of his designs with business partner Jacques Rouët. This resulted in the release of
a range of luxury accessories that would ‘complete the new look’. To this day the Christian Dior fashion house continues to produce accessories that complement their collections, and this profitable move was followed by nearly all fashion houses. John Galliano first introduced Denim into the House of Dior in the 1990s. Since then it has become a staple fabric of of the maison, spanning across Ready to Wear Collections, Menswear, Resort Wear and accessories such as the iconic Dior Saddle Bag. The colour blue itself has particular significance to the House of Dior, which informs its contemporary uses, and Dior’s frequent use of Denim. Dior once said “Among all
the colours, navy blue is the only one which can ever compete with black, it has all the same qualities”. Maria Grazia Chiuri has embraced Mr Dior’s appreciation of the colour with her use of denim and an entire RTW collection dedicated to Navy blue in 2017 which featured many denim pieces. The Dior Saddle Bag is an iconic example of Dior’s use of Denim. First designed by Galliano in 1999 and reintroduced by Maria Grazia Chiuri in 2018, the bag has been made in many fabrications including embroidered denim. Another key use of Denim in Dior’s history is Hedi Slimane’s revolutionary slim cut denim design for Dior Homme as creative director from 2000-2007.
WIL LOW AND
A key link these siblings have to Dior are their challenging of traditional gender norms. The Smiths actively break down traditional archetypes of gender in their fashion choices, and have been vocal in challenging expectations of gender. Jaden was the “first male to front a Louis Vuitton womenswear campaign lensed by Bruce Weber” in 2016 donning a pleated skirt and leather jacket (Business of Fashion 2019), while Willow featured in a Chanel eyewear campaign in 2016 featuring her eccentric gender non-conforming style. This is challenging of gender stereotypes is shared with Maria Grazia Chiuri’s feminist activism which is infused in her artistic direction of Dior. A key theme explored in Chiuri’s vision for Dior is consistently challenging notions of what femininity means and exploring more masculine silhouettes and shapes in her women’s collections. This also links to the siblings’ intersectional feminist perspective, particularly Willow who has challenged ‘white feminism’ for not being inclusive, and enforcing the notion that the experience of women is not universal to the experiences of white feminists. Additionally integral both Willow and Jaden, and Chiuri’s Dior are the notions of diversity and inclusivity. These points link to Denim as the fabric is said to represent freedom and rebelliousness, being a political symbol in the 1960s by black activists (Tensley 2020). Further to this, Denim is a material that is worn by all as basic staple pieces, being a material that supersedes gendered fashion.
Photo by Steven Klein
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THE SMITHS X DIOR COLLECTION AVAILABLE IN STORES AUGUST 2022
THE SMITHS X DIOR COLLECTION The Smiths x Dior Capsule Collection is inspired by the siblings’ boundary breaking fashion sense and self expression. The four piece gender neutral capsule collection embraces Dior’s love of denim, a fabric that is for everybody no matter how you identify or choose to express yourself. The signature piece of the collection, the Patchwork Kilt, is made of hundreds of patches of recycled denim from previous Dior collections. The collection also features the Unlock Yourself Necklace Set - a series of chain necklaces embellished with locks and keys, emblematic of Willow and Jaden’s key message for the collection - don’t be afraid to unlock your identity and love who you are.
M I N DE
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D RE H E T SS LLED
E VE A R R IST UN
D D AN
DD E L C EA R Y H T C Y E B R AD
UN Y IDE
NLOCK YOUR ENTITY
“IT’S ABOUT BEING ABLE TO SUSTAIN A HEALTHY PLANET”- JADEN SMITH We at Dior recognise the role we can play in spearheading change in the fashion Industy. In 2021 we introduced our commitment to making conscious decisions surrounding our environmental impact. We launched our Beauty As A Legacy Campaign in June 2021, and in 2022 we are expanding on this in our collaboration with the Smith Siblings, who share our passion for sustainability. The Smiths Capsule Collection features 100% recycled and repurposed denim. The signature piece, our Patchwork Kilt, has been crafted with hundreds of recycled denim swatches. No two skirts are the same. The manufacturing of one pair of Jeans on average uses 9000 L of water and 10 kg of CO2 emission, thus In repurposing denim off cuts from our previous collections, we are minimising our impact on the environment.
ENT OUR COMMITM
S TO
ITY
ABI L US TA IN
YOUR TRAN SPAR ENT SOUL