Dior Transforms The Catwalk Into A Feminist Manifesto

"Sisterhood is powerful, global and forever" were part of the feminist message that Dior showed on the catwalk

Three years after launching the feminist t-shirts that turned the entire fast fashion industry into a factory of empowering messages, Dior returned to the fray this Tuesday in Paris with a commercial collection that recovers the great successes of its designer, Maria Grazia Chiuri.

“Sisterhood is Powerful”, Sisterhood is Global ”and“ Sisterhood is Forever ”, titles of the works of the American feminist poet Robin Morgan, became the new screen printing of basic t-shirts .

As in 2016 with the "We should all be feminists", title of the manifesto of the Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie who covered shops and products at Dior, the historic firm falls for the winks that have made the "influencers" its main legion .

Dressed by the brand, Gala González, Dulceida, Pelayo, Anne-Laure Mais, Camille Charrière, Bryan Boy and a long list of powerful people from social networks came to the parade this Tuesday, surrendered to Chiuri’s saddle bag, to its porcelain prints. and to their t-shirts with a message.

On the catwalk, the Italian in charge of the brand’s design since 2016, noticed the “Teddy Girls”, female counterparts of the “Teddy Boys”, one of the first British subcultures, which allowed her to review the silhouettes of the 1950s, where the silhouette of the "New Look", created by Christian Dior in 1947, was key.

This allowed him to recover the wide masculine jackets, the flared skirts and the leather jackets in typically English prints such as the two-color square punk (black and red or black and green) or the tartan that covered wool jumpsuits with strapless neckline on sweaters like polo shirts, buttoned up to the neck.

But not even with these Chiuri did she get rid of the garments that she has become an icon: princess dresses, pleated tulle skirts, heelless shoes with ribbons decorated with the new logo of the house and, of course, feminist t-shirts.

Not even the critics who denounce that this commercial appropriation delegitimizes the feminist cause have managed to banish the trend.

Pulling from the archive, the designer recovered from the founder the “Bar” jacket, marked at the waist, in its more masculine version, the one created by Yves Saint Laurent during his time at Dior in the late 1950s.

The young Saint Laurent, who at that time had just turned 21, took over the reins of the firm after the sudden death of Dior and rejuvenated the “New Look” by drawing inspiration from the alternative cultures that populated the big cities, an idea that Chiuri now takes up.

"Alternative cultures confirm that the simple act of choosing your clothes gives it a political dimension," says the note received by guests at the show, including actress Jennifer Lawrence, models Cara Delevingne and Bar Rafaeli and actress Bianca Jagger.

The collection, dedicated to the recently deceased Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld, was presented at the Rodin Museum, inside a large white nave with photographs of nude women that made up the alphabet.

A work by the Italian artist Tomaso Binga whose message affects Chiuri’s controversial will: to reinterpret the history of Dior by linking the brand to the feminist struggle.

Another of the firms that paraded this Tuesday was Victoria / Tomas, formed by Victoria Feldman and Tomas Berzins, which was also inspired by women to create a collection, although more specifically in the Parisian one.

Feldman and Berzins delved into the “vintage” spirit of the capital’s stores with loose-fitting blouses, men’s military coats, mid-calf skirts and lace-up ankle boots, in a colorful range rarely seen in Paris, whose citizens are famous – and rightly so. – to always wear dark tones.

Much more minimalist was the autumn-winter 2019/2020 line that the Japanese Kunihiko Morinaga presented in his Anrealage brand with extra-long volumes, straight shapes.

On the catwalk, a knitted cape that closes only with a button of almost 30 centimeters in diameter, or a wool sweater that unravels to become a dress.

Colors such as white, gray and black abounded, which also decorated exaggerated wigs as hat. In the invitation that the attendees received, Morinaga made his own declaration of principles: "God is in the details."