Many moons ago, when Maria Grazia Chiuri’s debut at Dior included T-shirts encouraging all of us to be feminists, no one could have predicted a reckoning so profound that the impetus to show solidarity in protecting women’s rights and equality would, among other repercussions, lead to a near-total embrace of black dress at the Golden Globes.
In the wake of #MeToo, and as the impact of Time’s Up continues, it’s anyone’s guess whether fashion might deliver a new prophetic statement to ripple through the zeitgeist and sell out in stores. Certainly, Chiuri is neither one to say “I told you so” nor to treat Dior as a pulpit, even if shining the spotlight on audacious women has arguably been her most consistent message so far. For Pre-Fall, she zeroed in on Claude Cahun, the pseudonym of Lucy Schwob, a prolific contributor to the Surrealist movement who was openly homosexual and who wore men’s attire more often than not. Less known today than her contemporaries—think Elsa Schiaparelli, Leonor Fini, and Meret Oppenheim—her work was wondrously transgressive. Predating Cindy Sherman by decades, she often photographed herself as myriad male archetypes, completely transforming her identity. “I think in some ways this was the birth of the modern woman,” Chiuri declared.
Integral to our sit-down (the designer is recovering from an unfortunate fall at home over the holidays) was the mood board featuring Cahun’s avant-garde images, which established the link between her own menswear leanings, certain Surrealist signaling, and recognizably Dior hallmarks. Whether with a tailored hickory-striped denim jacket paired with a frothy skirt, metallic yarn updating knitwear, or a chemise with puff sleeves of delicately stitched checkerboard silk, Chiuri showed how the maison’s savoir faire could be expressed with equal parts functionality and nuance. “We have to maintain our heritage, but at the same time, transform it into something that is very easy to wear—comfortable, too,” she explained. Thus, for all the polished portrait necklines and molded shapes of jackets in heavier suiting wools, the expansive lineup was not short on all-purpose cabans, relaxed day dresses, and pants and skirts that were short enough and long enough, respectively. A leather tote boasting the French slogan of the Bureau of Surrealist Research, which translated, reads, “If you love love, you will love Surrealism,” is going to get a lot of love.
Indeed, given so much gray and black (even the Rorschach pattern, blurred animal spots, racing stripes, and painterly abstractions were rendered monochromatic), the collection risked reading as severe. Yet with our eye adjusted to #WhyWeWearBlack—and granted, black is fashion’s default color—perhaps Chiuri has once again proven her foresight. And maybe that’s why she keeps looking to the stars. See: the discovery of an archival print, all her charms, and the return of evening dresses embellished with constellation artwork from another Surrealist, Jean Cocteau. At this point, the gowns that departed from such imagery proved more interesting: specifically, one style featuring a brushed gold sequined lattice skirt, and another in blush plissé, just gauzy enough to reveal Dior gray boning. No doubt some women will be far more excited by Chiuri’s interpretations of Hedi Slimane’s Petite Taille. His men’s suiting sized for women now registers as a proper and relevant salute to all the Claude Cahuns of today.
