You’re certainly familiar with the Miss Dior perfume, but for the Fall/Winter 2024 season, Maria Grazia Chiuri dived deep into Dior’s archives to dig up the revolutionary 1967 prêt-à-porter line of the same name (maybe lesser known to the general public), entrusted by Marc Bohan to his assistant Philippe Guibourgé. With a cohesive colour palette of whites, beiges, greys and blacks, the collection presents functional pieces aimed to fit the universality of the Dior woman across the globe.
As she’s been doing the past years, Maria Grazia Chiuri focuses on the modern woman who lives on the run, works, travels, visits museums, is spontaneous – in short, who has an enriching life. And that’s pretty similar to what the Miss Dior spirit embodied back in the late 1960s, a revolutionary time that saw female emancipation, a shift in the arts (from music to architecture) and, of course, in fashion. Mini skirts were all the rage, university students and the youth at large protested around the world, and a sense of new age spirituality took over. Does that resonate with today’s times? Of course it does.
However, fashion never stays the same; it may come back, yes, but there are always changes that make it feel modern. We find perfect examples in this collection. For one, the Miss Dior logo is represented as a manifesto-signature in a palette of blues, reds and browns in long blouses and shirts. But we also find a painted-like Miss Dior stamp on blazers, skirts and trench coats, giving it an artsy, human touch. Tailoring though is the most important in the collection, which ranges from wide suit pants to structured double-breasted jackets, to mini and midi skirts, two-piece sets, jackets and coats.
The easiness and playful side of the ‘60s is still present in many other pieces of the F/W collection. For example, in the denim pieces (a pleated skirt, a cropped jacket, a couple of long coats) or in the cheetah print that appear more towards the end of the show in twin sets, jackets, shorts, trench coats, and accessories like a hat.
As usual, Maria Grazia Chiuri has once again collaborated with female artists she admires and wants to bring to the front, merging fashion and contemporary art that sparks conversation and new streams of thought. For this occasion, she’s highlighted the work of Gabriella Crespi, a designer and overall creator whose objects and pieces contributed to the success of Dior addresses pver those years, and Shakuntala Kuklarni, whose sculptures exploring the female body were part of the runway show.