“She was part of an unbelievable group of artists who tried to express themselves with technique.” Maria Grazia Chiuri was referring to Sonia Delaunay, whose creative career through the early 20th century evolved from painting to textiles and even a clothing line. Her multidisciplinary approach was avant-garde at the time: art and craft coexisting through design.
Among Delaunay’s vast body of work was a dress for Christian Dior worn by Françoise Hardy back when Marc Bohan was overseeing the house. Geometric in arrangement, it appears reinterpreted in Chiuri’s Pre-Fall collection, which is distinguished by its subdued yet elaborate artisanal detail.
Chiuri motioned over to a mood board featuring various Delaunay references, in addition to work by Anni Albers. Both émigrés, they achieved early success alongside, but also independent of, their acclaimed artist husbands. There was also a photo of Diana Vreeland attending “The Glory of Russian Costume” exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum in 1976; images of the Ballet Russes performing Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring; and a version of the book cover for The Subversive Stitch: Embroidery and the Making of the Feminine by Rozsika Parker from 1984. Like an erudite patchwork, it explained the earthy sobriety; the folk elements; and the classical dance-inspired dresses that pick up where the Spring collection left off.
“I think you come to Dior to find prêt-à-porter at a high level—creativity with quality,” Chiuri noted. “All the embroideries and techniques, it can be a very experimental way to make things. And it’s not easy sometimes.” This became clear as she singled out how many of the wearable looks were imbued with layers of workmanship. First, there was a hand-application of color grazing the dark surfaces of shapely outerwear in sturdy Shetland wool—as though the classic Bar jackets had been modernized and air-brushed by street artists. (In fact, the traditional weaving technique is done by women in the Salento region of Italy.) There was delicate lace that revealed a tiling of muted tones beneath; a jacquard of tulle that appears as a gauzy lattice sheath worn by Ruth Bell; crochet intarsia and pleating formed from incrustations of gradient silk; woven tufts of fur and 3-D knits; and embroideries of velvet and beading. If some of the silhouettes seemed noticeably throwback, they were styled in an updated way; frothy dresses worn over second-skin turtlenecks or sheer skirts revealing knee-high boots with sleek embossed accents.
Other accessories, meanwhile, played up the personalization: chunky pendant necklaces of zodiac figurines, or bags and belts with a choice of hardware—in lieu of CD, your own initials that fasten into place. It’s a fascinating development; a combined identity that invites you to declare your own brand value.
Just when the walkthrough seemed complete, this reviewer realized that one key piece remained unseen: the season’s statement tee which renders The Subversive Stitch in colorful loose threads (harder to reproduce!). Even as Chiuri continues to position Dior with cultural feminist messaging, she remains somewhat conservative in the fashion messaging. The substance is all there; but you do see a painting that is less daring than it is pleasing.
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