Inspired by the upcoming Olympic Games, Maria Grazia Chiuri imagined a collection that pays tribute to all those athletes who, from antiquity to the present day, have overcome prejudices and obstacles to have an equal place in sports competitions.
Dior’s creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, returned to a way of dressing very dear to her: the peplum, an absolute yet flexible garment. This new Haute Couture collection by Christian Dior operates within the perimeter of political freedom won by the body. Haute Couture here not only shapes bodies, but also allows itself to be shaped by them. Chiuri chooses unconventional materials for this occasion, such as a sweater that caresses the silhouettes or a metallic mesh of gold, silver and white.
Pleats are a constant in many garments in this collection, sewn or open to follow the movement of the body. Draping, evoking classical statuary, permeates the collection: from shiny black silk velvet dresses to moiré jacquard skirts, which time has transformed. The suits reveal trousers under draped skirts, while the one-shouldered goddess dresses reveal sheer metallic tops with satin trim. The sports suit is reinvented in a vision of Haute Couture, covered in gold or studded with micro sequins. Red, considered by Christian Dior to be the “color of life”, enhances the show, and the bathrobe embroidered with mirror mosaics defies its traditional function.
For Chiuri, this collection represents an extraordinary opportunity to intertwine Haute Couture with sportswear, rebellion, and collective energy, highlighting the political value of the female body. Affirming the experimental and reflective power of Haute Couture, Chiuri rethinks the forms of femininity that is both delicate and powerful, capable of performing differently, but just as meaningful as the male body.
