SEPTEMBER 2021 ISSUE REPRESENTED BY
SAOIRSE RONAN
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CHRISTIAN DIOR Christian Dior is the man behind the french luxury goods house, Dior. As a designer for only 10 short years he had a tremendous impact on the fashion world. His most infamous design being the ‘new look’ emerged onto the fashion scene in 1947, the tailored bar jacket and large full skirt with a radically lowered hemline altered the silhouette women had previously been seen in. However it was particularly controversial. During the second world war women were working in more industrial, mechanical jobs, thereby women’s fashion had adapted to the new role of women in society. The new looked supported the idea that women would return to traditional duties. Coco Chanel famously stating that “Dior doesn’t dress women, he upholsters them.” At a time when there
was fluidity of class structure during the second world war, the introduction of the new look was seen as proposing class distinction again Christian Dior took inspiration from the past, forging a time of prosperity through referring to la belle époque, his own childhood home in northern France and his garden. He would carry around a sprig of Lilly-of the valley around with him for good luck and was seen as a highly superstitious man, these ideas and aesthetics have since been referenced in his own work and are considered codes of his brand. A host of other designers have since designed under the brand of Christian Dior, adding and evolving codes of the brand. Today Dior id a global brand that engages with its audiences. .
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GRAZIA CHIURI
Maria Grazia Chiuri is the current creative director of Dior, appointed in 2016, she is the first female to head up the brand and has a strong purpose in ‘creating fashions for women by women” (Freeman for Vogue, 2021). The tone of her work very much reflects her feminist values with her first collection making a direct statement, reading the slogan ‘we should all be feminists’ on a simple white t-shirt, drawing inspiration from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s essay ‘We Should all be Feminists’. She continuously platforms female artists, photographers and creatives through her collections championing the female gaze and creatives at the roots of production. Diors autumn/ winter collection exemplifies this, where five female illustrators from different countries created five animated teasers for the promotion of the collection, exploring each cartoonists interpretation of femininity, highlighting contemporary representations of women in society. Chiuri’s background at Fendi and then directing accessories and later creative direction at Valentino has informed her knowledge of leather accessories where she was influential in the iconic leather studded look at Valentino. In 2019 she was awarded the French Legion d’Honneur, an award recognising her commitment to equality.
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The unveiling of Diors 2021 cruise collection in the town of Lecce, in Puglia, southern Italy directed global attention to artisans and creatives of the region, centring the collection around the theme of local production and collaboration. Maria Grazia Chiuri enlisted Le Constatine Foundation, founded by two sisters Giulia and Lucia Starace, to produce woven textiles, local performers made up the orchestra and locals attended in replacement of a celebrity guest list. The silhouettes and garments of the collection reflected the theme of locality, pinafore dresses were styled with long sleeve collared shirts, practical flat boots and headscarves reminiscent of traditional Italian dress codes. The theme of feminism is a constant in MariGrazia Chiuris collections, and was present in the Dior 2021 Cruise show, where she enlisted female
DIOR COLLECTION 2021 choreographer Sharon Eyal who composed the live dance performance and Marinella Sentore who created the ‘luminarie’ lining the piazza, which was also replicated in some of the collections prints (Militano, 2020). Chiuri describes how traditional Italian fashion is not so ingrained in they cultural heritage dialogue in comparison to that of France, suggesting that this could be because these traditions are made by women at home “so there’s this idea that its domestic work. They don’t think it’s creative work. They don’t give it the same value, They don’t celebrate it.” (Maria Grazia Chiuri, 2021) Ultimately bringing light to the work of women in these regions.
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ANALYSIS
Diors reatil presence in europe is dominant, having retail flagship stores in french, italian and greek luxurious retail spaces. Diors french flagship store is located in Rue Saint-Honore Paris. The building located at the heart of Paris’ luxury shopping district is an 18th century heritage Parisian building with a restored stone facade. Similarly Dior has their flagship store in Italy located in Milan, known as the country’s fashion capital. Situated on Via Montenapoleone, the store covers 500 square meters and is spread over two stores. Dior has a retail market in Greece, their flagship store is located in Athens, the countrys capital however thaey have a market amongst tourists holding resort and cruise collection pop ups in popular island destinations.
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SAOIRSE RONAN Saoirse Ronan was one of the youngest actresses to be nominated for an Oscar, by 24 she had 3 Oscar nominations. Her notable performances in Atonement, lady bird, little women and Mary Queen of scouts share a common thread of giving voice to her feminist values through telling the stories of all kinds of women. Ronan is a particularly private public figure, the actress doesn’t have an Instagram nor a twitter account, rather utilising her screen work and public media streams to communicate her politically progressive values. In September 2018 in a cover feature interview of Vogue America she spoke to this “I wouldn’t say I grew up politically minded…but the older I get, the more in touch I am with what activists are doing and the more I want to help them” She appeared in a campaign in her home country of Ireland, supporting the reproductive rights of women which passed as legislation in 2018. It is clear she is an actress who values speaking up in what she believes through honesty and compassion whilst also remaining genuine in her humility and true to her private life. She has previously been dressed for red carpet events by Calvin Klein, Gucci and Chanel, and has a long term partnership with stylist Elizabeth Saltzman. Where she is typically described as having a more whimsical style she has confidence in taking risks and exceeding what is expected of her, wearing a combination of playful, irreverent looks and sexy silhouettes.
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& DIOR Denim in its traditional sense is a sturdy cotton warp-faced textile. The textile originally existed in the context of Jeans, and was manufactured to withstand labourers work In recent years Dior have worked to reinterpret the classic staple, pairing the textile with couture silhouettes as seen in 2018 spring summer, Dior Homme casual re-interpretation of the tropes of a Dior homme suit. Exploring concepts of double denim, classic tailoring, Indigo, black and bleached colour ways blended and workwear influences in
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Dior’s new pop up in mykonos greece offers an immersive reatil experience full of warm hues and rich textures leaving customers with a luxurious slice of a european summer.
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